Naruto's True Nindo
by Kyuubi123
Summary: Naruto has failed the genin exam for the second time when a mysterious man gives him some advice that will change the future of naruto as we know it. Naru/hina others pairings are not definite.
1. Chapter 1

**Naruto's True Nindo**

**Kyuubi123 here again with my newest fic. Let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own naruto **

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It is said that one little, seemingly irrelevant event can have enormous consequences. Naruto Uzumaki was about to learn this lesson, and he had no idea what effects this would have on his future.

Young Naruto had just failed the genin exam for the second time. He had tried hard but still couldn't pull it off. He saw the sad look in Iruka-sensei's eyes when he had to tell Naruto that he had failed, but he could not and would not make an exception for the young eleven year old.

Naruto was now sitting on the head of the fourth Hokage looking over the village. He was very sad but tried to look at the bright side.

'At least I won't have to be with ninja older than I am.' He thought. However, he knew that if he failed one more time than he wouldn't even be paired with ninja his own age. He would be the only student to ever fail three consecutive times. Most had dropped out of the academy after failing the second time, but Naruto refused to give up.

He stood up and yelled to the village, even if no one could hear him, "I will not give up, and I will never surrender. I am Naruto Uzumaki and I will be the Hokage someday!" he yelled.

"Oh really?" said a voice behind Naruto. Naruto turned around and saw a man completely wrapped in a black cloak that hid every feature about him.

"Who are you!" yelled Naruto fearfully, afraid that this man would hurt him.

"So you want to be Hokage do you?" asked the man, completely ignoring the question.

"What's it to you?!" yelled Naruto. He was sick and tired of others putting down his dream.

"I just want to know why you would want to be the Hokage. Few have that as their dream and I find it intriguing that one so young would have a dream so big." The man said.

"Well if you must know." Naruto said while puffing out his chest and trying to look confident "I want to be hokage so that everyone in this village will stop treating me like I'm a nobody and finally give me some respect."

The man simply looked at Naruto for a while, saying nothing. "That's stupid." He said.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW I WILL BE HOKAGE NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU LAUGH AND TELL ME THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Naruto yelled.

"Now, now I never said that you wouldn't be the Hokage, I simply meant that your reason for being the Hokage was stupid." The man said.

"Huh?" the confused Naruto said.

"Why do you care what other think about you? Don't you have anyone who already acknowledges you?" the man asked.

Naruto thought about it and the faces of Iruka, the third Hokage, and the people at the ramen stand came to mind. "Yeah, I guess I do have some people who acknowledge me." He said.

"Then that should be enough. I have seen you around the village and see your pranks and very loud personality. You do all that to gain some form of recognition don't you?" the man asked sadly.

Naruto was shocked that this man knew so much about him. Most of the villagers didn't know and didn't care to know anything about him.

"Yeah, well at least when I do those things then they acknowledge me." He said.

The man looked at Naruto, and even though Naruto couldn't see his face he could tell that this man had a sad look on his face.

"Naruto, you shouldn't do things like that to gain their recognition or acknowledgement. It's meaningless." He said.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE LOOKED AT AS IF YOU ARE TRASH OR SOME DEMON! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE PEOPLE LOOK AT YOU AS IF YOU ARE NOTHING!" he yelled infuriated at the man for telling him that what he was doing was meaningless.

"Naruto, the only people whose opinion should matter to you are those who actually care for you and care about you. I have seen the villagers. They don't care about you and thus you shouldn't try to gain their approval or their respect. You already have the approval of a few people who actually care for you. They should be the ones that motivate your goal and dreams. Tell me, do you even know what being the Hokage entails?" the man said.

Naruto had to stop and think. All he really knew was that the Hokage was the best ninja in the village and that the position was one of great respect.

"No, not really." Naruto said.

"You should find out. You may see that it really isn't the job you want. But if it is then you will be striving for it for the right reasons." The man said.

The man turned to leave, but suddenly turned to the boy. "You say that you will never give up and never surrender, and these are admirable traits for a ninja, however is that your true nindo because if it is then you will want to change it." The man said.

"Huh" Naruto said.

"Never giving up and never surrendering are good traits but is that all you want to be known for?" the man asked.

Naruto looked at the village, deep in thought. What the man said had made sense. Why did he care what people who didn't give a crap about him thought of him? Why should he care about their recognition when he had people who already recognized him and accepted him? He didn't like being known as an idiot or a fool yet he had believed that even bad recognition was better than known. He had a lot to think about. He turned to the man.

"I think that I will see the old man now. Maybe I can find out more about what it truly means to be the Hokage." The boy said. "By the way what's your name?"

"I am glad that what I said got through to you. Be the best you can be and don't worry about what anyone but the people who care about you says. If they are proud of you and you are proud of yourself then that's all that matters. If the villagers change their attitude and decide to acknowledge you then that's fine, but if they don't then that's their choice." The man said. "Oh and about my name." he said.

"Yeah?" Naruto said

"That is a secret!" the man said as he suddenly disappeared.

Naruto was left dumbfounded for a moment before he shook it off. He had a lot to think about and he wanted to talk to the old man.

What Naruto didn't know was that that single conversation with the mysterious man would have a large effect on the future.

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The third Hokage was relaxing from a long day of paperwork when Naruto walked in with a contemplative look on his face.

"Hello Naruto, is something bothering you?" the kind leader asked.

"Hey old man." Naruto said while still looking as if in deep concentration.

"Is there something bothering you?" Sarutobi asked.

"Old man, what does it mean to be Hokage?" asked the eleven year old.

Sarutobi was stunned. In all the time he had known Naruto the child had never asked that question. "What makes you ask that Naruto?" he asked.

"I failed the genin exam for the second time today." He said.

"You aren't giving up are you?" asked the third with an expression that seemed to be equally sad as it was alarmed.

"No, but after I failed I went to be alone and then this man came behind me and started talking to me." Naruto said.

"Who was it?" asked the curios leader.

"I don't know, but the point is he brought to my attention that I don't really know what it means to be the Hokage. He said that I should find out if it really something I want to do." Naruto stated. "When I told him that I wanted to be Hokage because it would give me respect and acknowledgement he said that that wasn't a good reason to want to be Hokage."

Sarutobi looked at Naruto and saw that he really wanted a truthful answer. "He was right Naruto." He said.

Naruto was surprised. He had told the old man that that was his dream for a long time and yet he had never criticized it.

"I never said anything before because I didn't want to destroy your only dream. Are you sure you want to know what it means to be the Hokage?" Sarutboi asked very seriously. "What I say may influence your decision."

"I want to know Hokage-sama." Naruto said looking at him with the same intensity and determination that he would soon be known for. "I want to know if the dream I am chasing is really what I want."

"Fine, take a seat." Sarutobi said.

After Naruto was seated Sarutobi closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate.

"To be Hokage is not a job for the faint of heart or those who are not completely dedicated to the job. Everything that transpires in the village is somehow affected by you. Every business, merchant, food vendor, and civilian falls under your jurisdiction. Most of the time you will be doing paper work that relates to these sorts of things. Every decision you make does not just affect you, it affects everyone in this village." The old man said as he rose from his chair.

"Then there is the military. You are in command of every ninja in this village. They all must obey you and they all will follow your orders. You will be sending them on missions and you need to know what team specializes in what area as well as what team is better prepared for the mission. You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of every team as you will control how teams are made. This is very important Naruto because all of their live rest on your shoulders. If you mess up and send the wrong team in the wrong situation then good men and women will die because of your foul-up. You may have to order some ninja on missions that you know are more like suicides missions if it is necessary. You _will_ eventually mess up and the deaths of your comrades will be on your hands, and even then you must persevere and not let the loss of life keep you from leading the village." The old man said.

Naruto looked at the Hokage and he saw pain in his eyes and knew that the old man had seen and made his share of mistakes and was still paying for them today.

"Come here Naruto." Sarutobi said as he went to the window. When Naruto had joined him he asked "what do you see?"

Naruto looked out of the window as saw the everyday life in the village. Families were walking around, shops and stores were open, and friends were conversing.

"I see the village old man." He said not quite grasping what he expected him to see.

"That's right Naruto and when you are Hokage every man, women, and child is your responsibility. Their lives depend on the decisions that you make. As Hokage you bear the burden of carrying and protecting every person in this village even if it means giving up your life. There very well may come a time when you must make the ultimate sacrifice to protect the village. You are the guiding light for the village and everyone will look to your for guidance and leadership. To view everyone under you as precious, to place their lives on your shoulders, to protect them with your life, that is what it means to be Hokage." Sarutobi said.

Naruto looked at him with awe. He never knew that being the Hokage was such a responsibility. After hearing what the old man said he felt ashamed of how he always yelled that he would be the Hokage when he didn't have any idea what it entailed. The man was right, to be the Hokage for the simple reasons of wanting respect and acknowledgement was selfish and was a disgrace to the Hokage who had come and died for this village.

"Then that is what I will do." Naruto said.

"What do you mean Naruto?" asked the third.

"I will become Hokage, but for the right reasons. Another thing the man told me was that I shouldn't strive to gain the acceptance of those who hate me for no reason. As long as I am acknowledged by those who truly know and care about me than that is all I need." Naruto said with conviction in his voice.

"That is very good advice Naruto. If those fools don't accept you and don't make the effort to understand you than you shouldn't worry about the acceptance or their acknowledgement." Sarutobi said.

"Yeah, I will be Hokage to protect this village. I may not be accepted but I will protect those that are precious to me with my life." Naruto said.

Sarutobi looked at the determined look in Naruto's face and swore that he saw an image of the fourth behind him.

"Are you sure Naruto it will be a lot of hard work." Sarutobi warned.

"I am sure, I will defend and protect everyone that is precious to me because that is my nindo, my ninja way." Naruto said.

"Well if you need anything then you can tell me." Sarutobi said kindly.

"Thanks old man, I need to do some thinking now." Naruto said as he left.

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Naruto walked down the street completely ignoring the looks from the villagers. Whereas before he simply pretended to ignore the looks while silently pondering their meaning, he know recognized them but simply didn't care what they meant. If this people didn't want to even give him a chance then he wouldn't concern himself with their opinions. He returned to the Hokage Mountain and sat in deep contemplation for a while. He knew that to become Hokage then there were some things that he would have to change about himself. He first of all had to become a shinobi, and a competent one at that. No one would follow an idiot into battle. He also needed to control his temper. No one would want an impulsive leader ruled by his emotion either. His skills sucked. He couldn't do a simple clone, his taijutsu was shaky at best, and his ninjutsu was non-existent.

'Man, I have a lot to work on if I want to be a ninja and then Hokage.' Naruto thought.

"Oh well, if it was easy then anyone could do it." Naruto said to himself as he headed home. Starting tomorrow he was a whole new shinobi.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, the man from earlier was watching him and heard what he said.

"So he took my advice, Naruto uzumaki, I have a feeling that things are going to be very interesting from now on.'' He said with a smile as he vanished into the night.

**Here's chapter one. Who is the mysterious man? What will naruto do to improve himself? You will have to read more to find out. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapters 2 coming at you hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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Naruto woke up refreshed. "Okay time to become a better ninja. All I have to do is improve my taijutsu, work on my ninjutsu, learn at least one genjutsu, learn to create a clone, learn to better control my emotions, and pretty much change everything about me." He said becoming more annoyed toward the end of his statement.

'How am I supposed to do that!?' he wondered. The library made it very clear that he wasn't welcome and no one would be able to help him. Iruka wouldn't play favorites, the people at the ramen stand didn't know anything about being a ninja, and the old man certainly couldn't drop what he was doing and train him.

'I guess I'll see the old man and see what he can do to help.' He thought and he got dressed and left his apartment.

As Naruto walked toward the tower he was once again greeted with the same hateful and cold glares as before, but like last night he refused to even acknowledge the people. They didn't want to acknowledge him so he would return the treatment.

Naruto entered the Hokage's tower and ran into a strange female. She had purple hair in a bun, a trench coat that went to her ankles, a fishnet shirt that left little to the imagination, a tan skirt and shin guards.

"Watch where you're going you brat" she said

Naruto's first reaction was to yell back but he was trying to reign in his emotions. When he didn't say anything but continued walking the female ninja grabbed him.

"Hey I'm talking to you!" she yelled.

"And you are?" Naruto asked.

"I don't have to introduce myself to someone like you." She stated.

"Well then, you don't want to talk to me and I don't want to talk to you so why don't you put me down and we can both go about our business, lady!" Naruto said trying to keep his temper and failing.

"And what kind of business could a kid like you possibly have?" she ask while neglecting to release him.

"You don't have to tell me your name? Then I don't have to answer your question." Naruto said smugly.

"Why you little.."

"Is there a problem here?" asked Sarutobi cutting in before the situation escalated.

"No Hokage-Sama." Anko said releasing Naruto.

"Well that's good, Naruto did you need something?" he asked.

"Yeah, before this crazy women grabbed me I was coming to talk to you." He said.

"Who are you calling crazy!" she yelled.

"Enough!" Sarutboi said. "Anko you are dismissed, Naruto come into my office and tell me what's on your mind."

"Whatever, I better not see you again you brat." She said to Naruto.

"Whatever crazy lady." Naruto said.

As they entered his office Sarutobi looked at Naruto with disappointment.

"I am disappointed in you Naruto." He said.

"What? Why?" he asked the last thing he wanted to do was lose the respect of those that cared for him.

"You could have handled the situation better. I know that Anko is a little extreme but you shouldn't have riled her up or called her crazy." The old leader said.

"She called me brat." Naruto said looking away with a pout.

"Yes she did but did that make it necessary to retaliate? If you are going to be a good ninja and a good leader you must learn to control your emotions better." The Hokage said. "If you are on mission and your opponent taunts you, do you fall for it and possibly die? Or do you control yourself and think clearly?" he said. He knew that what he was saying may have seemed harsh but yesterday Naruto had come wanting to know what it meant to be Hokage. Sarutobi was now going to make sure that he was constantly reminded what was expected of him as a leader.

Naruto sighed. He knew that controlling his emotions was important but he didn't know how to start. "I know that old man and I'm trying to control myself." He said dejectedly.

The wise leader's face softened. "Take it one day at a time Naruto. Now what did you want?"

"I want to know if you know how I can improve myself. I know all of my weaknesses but I don't know how to improve on them." He said.

"Well what do you need help with?" he asked.

"My taijutsu sucks, my ninjutsu is very limited, my genjutsu is non-existent, and I suck at written tests and I'm hot-headed." Naruto stated.

"You have thought hard about this." Sarutobi said surprised.

Naruto had a sad look on his face. "I never used to think that hard about things."

"Why is that?" he asked

"I never used to think hard about anything because for one I knew no one would answer any question I had and two if I thought about it for too long then I start to would wonder why the villagers hate me and become upset. That's why I decided that if I didn't understand something then I would just disregard it. But as a leader and a ninja I have to think things through, especially if I don't understand it. If I have to make a decision on a topic I didn't understand I can't very well ignore the topic and rush a decision I have to think things through." Naruto said.

Sarutobi sighed. He knew that Naruto had it hard and knew that it wouldn't get better for a while.

"Well I can't help you that much Naruto. I don't have the time to train you and it wouldn't really be fair either. I can however allow you to go to the library and check out any scroll you want. If they try to give you trouble just tell them that I sent you." He said with an edge in his voice. He didn't like what the villagers did to Naruto and he would take action if need be.

"Thanks old man." Naruto said as he started to walk away. 'Well I knew that was coming, what should I do now?' he thought.

"Guess I'll get something to eat then head to the library.'' He told himself.

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As Naruto headed to the ramen stand he saw the lady from before.

'What was her name again? Oh right it was Anko.' He thought.

He was about to leave it at that and continue on his was until he realized that the villagers were looking at her the same way they looked at him. He saw them whispering behind her back and glaring at her with hate and distrust. What intrigued Naruto even more was that she seemed to sense what was going on around her but didn't seem to care. While the glares used to make him feel bad she didn't look as if they hurt her at all. Naruto followed her, discretely, to see if he could talk to her.

Anko had entered the dango shop in a bad mood. She couldn't get over how that brat disrespected her earlier.

'I better not see him again for a long time.' She thought.

She was short on money so she only ordered a few sticks of dango, but was surprised when the waiter brought more then she ordered.

"What's going on I didn't order all this, and I can't pay for it either." She said.

"They were paid for by that dem..er ..kid" he said with disgust on his face.

Anko looked over to see Naruto walking toward her.

"What do you want brat!" she said still angry about earlier.

"I wanted to say that I was sorry." Naruto said.

"What?" Anko asked confused.

"I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. I shouldn't have lost my temper and escalated the argument." Naruto said.

Anko, as a rule, didn't apologize. She thought it would make her look weak. However, she was fair and if the kid would go out of his way to buy her dango as well as apologize then she should be women enough to accept.

"Apology accepted brat, and for what it's worth I guess I'm sorry too. It was my fault anyway." She said.

Naruto smiled, normally if he were to apologize to someone it was not uncommon for them to brush him aside or completely ignore him as if he wasn't there.

"Well enjoy the dango, it's not as good as ramen but it's still okay. Maybe I'll see you around." He said as he walked away feeling better.

Anko looked at him as he left and noticed the way the people looked and talked about him. She never thought that there was someone else in the village that was treated the same, if not worse than her. She knew about the kyuubi but to her the kid was simply the jailer. Many thought of him as a demon in human form, but she knew better. She knew from personal experience what a demon in human form was like and the kid was nothing like that. She continued to eat as she thought more about the strange kid.

'Naruto uzumaki, your nothing like what I've heard.' She thought.

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The next day, Naruto lay on the training ground panting. He had gone to the library and checked out almost every scroll on taijutsu that he could. He knew that he had to start somewhere on improving himself and so he chose to work on his taijutsu. He wasn't allowed to look at ninjutsu or genjutsu scrolls as you had to be a ninja to read them. He had looked at every style of fighting they had but couldn't seem to find the style that best suited him. They all felt wrong somehow, like they weren't the right ones for him.

'Man what am I going to do?' he thought. Suddenly he saw two kunai coming at him. He hurriedly moved out of the way.

"Who's there." He said.

"Nice reflexes brat." Anko said as she came into view.

"Why did you do that!" he yelled. "Let me guess, that apology yesterday was a trick wasn't it! You wanted me to let my guard down." He said angrily.

Anko could see the hurt and the anger in his eyes and knew that this wasn't the first time that something like that must have happened to the kid.

"Sorry about that. I really did mean what I said; it's just that I wanted to see how fast your reflexes are." She said while scratching the back of her head with a sheepish look on her face.

Naruto looked at her a long time. "So you threw kunai at me?" He said.

"They were blunted. Anyway, you have pretty good reflexes for a brat." She said.

"You know you still haven't told me what you wanted." Naruto said.

"Well I came to see what you were up to. By the looks of it you have been at it for a while." She said slightly impressed with how hard he must have worked.

"Yeah well it didn't help that much. I still can't find the right style of taijutsu and I have no way to improve my ninjustsu or genjutsu." He said.

"Well how about this. I'll help you for a price." Anko said.

"Why do you want to help me?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

Anko looked at him for a while as if she couldn't think of the reason either.

"I guess it's because I see how the villagers treat you and you remind me a lot about myself." She said.

"I lost my parents when I was young and was alone until someone took me under their wing. I was happy until something happened. Afterwards no one trusted me except the Hokage. I guess I want to help you like I wanted someone to help me when I was younger." She said with a furlong look in her eyes.

Naruto looked at her to see if she was just pulling a prank on him. It wouldn't be the first time that someone said they wanted to help him only to take advantage of him later. He couldn't find any hint of duplicity in her face so he decided to accept. However, he wouldn't take things at face value anymore and would be on the lookout for any hint that she was setting him up just to bring him down.

"Help how and what's the price?" he asked.

Anko let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't good at opening up and was grateful that he accepted her help.

"Well you say that you can't find the right taijutsu style for you so let's start there. Come at me with everything you've got and I'll see if I can help you improve. Oh, and don't worry about the price right now, I'll collect later." She said

Naruto agreed and ran toward her.

What neither of them noticed was a lone figure dressed in a black robe watching them from a tree in the distance.

After the spar Naruto was on the ground breathing hard. Anko had barely broken a sweat.

He had come at her with almost every style of taijutsu there was. She was very impressed that he could get so many of them down so quickly.

"You impress me kid." She said "You have a pretty good grasp of a lot of styles, but none of them are perfect by a long shot, heck you can't even be considered proficient. You know what they say "A jack of all trades but a master of none". You need to find one style that best suits you and master it." She said.

"I know that" he said panting. "But I can't find the style that best suits me. What about the style you were using? It was the serpent style right?"

"Yes it was, but I can already tell that it isn't the right style for you. The serpent style relies heavily on one's flexibility and it mainly consists on the ability to strike fast and quick." She said. "Sorry but I don't know of a style that best suits you."

Naruto looked at the ground in defeat.

"But don't worry about it." She said trying to improve his mood. "You may not have a style that suits you but we can prepare you for when you find the style that works best for you." Anko said with a smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" Naruto said suspiciously, he didn't like the look of that smile.

"Well for one thing your stamina needs to improve and your speed and strength need to be worked on as well." She said.

"I want you to run 10 laps around the training area without stopping and I want it done in 10 minutes." She said.

"That's crazy!" Naruto said.

"Oh? Maybe you need some motivation." Anko stated. "**Summoning jutsu**!" she yelled as a large snake appeared beside her.

"I would get going brat, she has a large appetite and hasn't eaten in a while."

Naruto wasted no time in talking and ran as fast as he could away from the snake.

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A while later, Anko was impressed with Naruto. After the laps she had him start on push-ups, sit-ups, and had him work on his evasion skills by throwing blunted kunai at him. And while he would complain he never stopped and never gave anything but his best. There was a determination in him that surprised Anko.

"Hey brat." She said.

Naruto looked up from where he was resting. "Yeah what?" he asked.

"What's up with you? The word around the village is that you take nothing seriously, you pull pranks all the time and you suck as a ninja. Yet, you do everything I tell you and you do it very well. What drives you? Why do you get up every time you fall and keep at it?" she asked.

"I need to become stronger." Naruto said. "My goal is to be the Hokage and that is going to take a lot of work. I can't stop, give up or quit because the Hokage can never do those things either if he is going to protect everyone in the village." He said to her.

"Why do you want to be the Hokage so badly anyway?" she asked curious of his answer. Anyone with ears knew that the kid wanted to be Hokage, but very few knew or cared why.

"It used to be because I wanted acknowledgement and to be respected. However, that has changed. I know now that you can't force people to acknowledge you and you have to earn respect. My purpose to be Hokage now is so that I can protect every precious person I have in this village. I will gladly lay down my life to protect those who care for me, have protected me, and have saved me from complete isolation and loneliness!" He said with passion in his eyes.

When Anko looked at him she was stunned. She saw not one sign of compromise in what he had just said. She saw no fear of death, no illusions of grandeur, all she saw was a determination and passion that few of her own colleagues possessed.

"You know with that attitude you are on the right track kid." She said with a smirk. "No let's get back to it! I can't you to become Hokage as fast as possibly, so I can tell everyone that I taught the future Hokage, and get all the free dango I want!"

Naruto, with a sweat drop, simply looked at her. 'And people say that I'm obsessed with ramen.' He thought.

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And so it went for six months. Anko would train Naruto on the weekends as she couldn't just time off to train him. During the week Naruto would train with scrolls that Anko had given him to learn. He would also read to try and improve his written scores when the academy opened again. Naruto's chakra control had improved; he had learned the henge as well as the karami jutsu. While not a genius, he still hated written work, he was up to speed with what he needed to know going into the third year of the academy. However, there were still some things he needed to improve on. His taijutsu was still shaky. No matter what he did he couldn't find any style that seemed to fit him. His genjutsu was still horrible but Anko told him to not worry about it. According to her, his chakra reservoirs were extremely large for someone who wasn't even a genin. She said that genjutsu would be very difficult for him because of this.

Naruto and Anko had grown close over the past six months. So much so that Naruto had begun to call her Anko-neesan. While Anko repeatedly told him to stop, it did make her feel good to be looked up to as a sister. Though she would never say it, she thought of him as a little brother.

Currently Naruto is heading home to rest after another training session with Anko. 'Man neesan is a slave driver.' He thought wincing with every step. He looked forward to getting back to his apartment and relaxing with a hot bath.

As Naruto entered his apartment, he knew something was off. Training with Anko had heightened his sense of danger and it was screaming at him that something was wrong. Naruto took out a kunai and scanned the room. The sun was setting so there were many shadows for an intruder to hide in. He tried to turn the lights but when he flipped the switch the lights refused to come on.

"Alright, I don't know who you are, or what you want but if you don't come out in the next 5 seconds then I will find you and you won't be happy!" Naruto said.

There was no answer, and Naruto was beginning to worry. Whoever was in his apartment had the foresight to cut the electricity, and now had the element of surprise on their side. He began to back toward the door, if whoever was in the apartment meant him harm he didn't want his only route of escape to be blocked. He had no illusions about his strength. According to Anko he was currently about mid-genin in terms of skill. As he backed toward the door he bumped into a solid body.

Naruto immediately turned and prepared to throw his kunai until he saw his intruder. It was the man from a few months ago. He still wore the black robe that hid everything about him.

"Why are you in my apartment and what do you want?!" Naruto. While he tried to appear calm he was sweating and was his hand was shaking slightly.

"Oh sorry about that." The man said "I just wanted to talk for a bit."

"So why did you cut my electricity and hide in the shadows." Naruto said. He was calming down and his fear was turning into anger.

"I wanted to see how much you had improved and I must say that you impress me." The man replied "I am very good at stealth, yet you sensed my presence."

"Thanks I guess." Naruto said. If this man wanted to harm him he had plenty of opportunities and he had helped Naruto with his dream so Naruto decided to trust him, for now.

"Your welcome. Now on to business. I have been watching you and must say that you are improving quickly." He said.

"Why have you been following me?" Naruto asked a bit suspiciously.

"Your skills are all improving except your taijutsu and your genjutsu." The man said, ignoring the question.

"Do you enjoy not answering my questions?" Naruto said growing irritated.

"You can't do much about your genjutsu as your chakra reserves are large, but you can do something about your taijutsu." The man replied, once again ignoring Naruto's question.

"And what is that, as you must already know I have tried all of the styles and none of them suit me." Naruto said.

"Yours is not the path that has already been travelled." The mysterious figure said cryptically.

Naruto looked at him for a while seemingly in concentration. After a while Naruto looked at him with a serious expression on his face.

"What does that mean?" he asked scratching his head in confusion.

The man sighed. "It means that what has worked for other will not work for you. You need to create your own path. That is something special about you Naruto. While watching you train I saw it. You take a problem and look at it from a completely different perspective than others. Thus this should apply to taijutsu. You need to find the style that others have passed up as impossible or illogical."

He threw a scroll at Naruto. Naruto opened it and read for a while.

"What is this? This looks like a taijutsu style." He said after inspecting it.

"It is" the man said simply.

"It seems to be a combination of a bunch of styles. But there doesn't seem to be any pattern to it. It looks like someone just wrote bits and pieces of other styles in no specific order." Naruto said while turning the scroll in many different directions, trying to find a pattern.

The man laughed. "Yes, I'm sure that is what it looks like. This style incorporates the best of other styles into one style. It's called the dragon style."

"But I already saw the scroll that had the dragon style." Naruto said confused.

The man snorted. "Please that is just a watered down version of the true style. Very few people have ever mastered this style."

"What makes you think that I can?" Naruto asked.

"As I said, few have mastered this style. The reason being that most who have attempted this style didn't have what it took, you do. Look at it again and concentrate." The man said.

Naruto looked at the scroll for a while trying to figure out a pattern to the different characters, but nothing became clear.

"No Naruto." The man said "Don't think of it as a puzzle, just look at it"

Naruto became frustrated no matter how many times he tried to solve whatever pattern this scroll had, he came up with nothing. Then he simply did what the man said. He stopped trying to look for a pattern and simply concentrated on the scroll. Suddenly it seemed as if the characters were moving by themselves. It suddenly became clear to him. He looked at the man.

"The reason that few have ever been able to use this style is that they look for a pattern. What they never realized is that there is no pattern. There is no one specific way to do this style because this style varies with the user. The styles are there for you to use but you must choose how you use them. That is what makes this style near impossible to defeat if ever mastered. Your enemies will never be able to predict your movement as they seem to be completely random and unorganized. The only person who could possibly defeat you is a taijutsu specialist as even they will have a hard time defeating you." The man said.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Don't get cocky Naruto." The man warned "It will take a long time for you to completely master this style."

"Yeah well just like being Hokage, if it was easy anyone could do it." Naruto said.

"Well then, good luck and I hope you pass the genin exam this time." The man said as he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Naruto said.

The man stopped and looked at him.

"Why are you doing this? First you give me great advice about being the Hokage, and then you help me with my taijutsu. Why are you doing all of this for me, you don't even know me." Naruto said truly confused. He couldn't think of way a complete stranger would do all of this for him.

"Why am I doing all of this? Well maybe it's because I see some of me in you. Maybe it's because I understand what you are going through. But the real reason I'm helping you…." He said.

"Yeah?" Naruto said.

"That is a secret!" The man said as he walked out the door.

"Wait!" Naruto said as he ran out the door, only to realize that the man had disappeared.

"Who is that guy?" Naruto said. He then saw a scroll at his feet. He opened it to see one line written on the scroll.

_That is also a secret_.

Naruto looked around but saw no one. He went back into his house and got the electricity running again. He looked at the dragon scroll. It had some very complex styles that would take him a long time to learn. 'Oh well, might as well get started in the morning' Naruto thought as he took a shower and went to bed. The academy would start in another six months and he was going to learn as much about this style as he could.

Unknown to Naruto, the man was watching him threw his window.

'I can only do so much Naruto the rest is up to you. The future will be long and hard and you will need to be strong to face what is coming.' The man thought as he turned and disappeared.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Well here is chapter 2. I think that it is missing something. Well let me know how I can improve. The academy is coming up next. What will happen? How will everyone react to the new Naruto? What did the mysterious man mean? You'll have to wait until next time. Kyuubi123 out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Academy**

**Declaimer: Don't own Naruto**

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Naruto walked toward the academy slightly apprehensive. 'I wonder what this year will be like?' he thought. He knew that he was going to cause a commotion, if for no other reason than the clothes he was wearing. He had abandoned the orange jumpsuit that he used to wear. According to Anko, if he wanted to stick out like a bull's-eye in the field, then wearing bright orange was definitely the way to gain attention. His clothing now consisted of black pants with dark orange strips along the sides, black ninja sandals, a long sleeve black shirt with an orange spiral on the chest, and a black trench coat that went to his knees given to him by his nee-san.

He now looked like a serious ninja, and he had a year to prove himself and gain the headband of a leaf shinobi. As he walked toward the academy he was met with a mixture of looks. There were still the ever present hateful and distrustful looks from a majority, but a few were looking at him with confusion. They couldn't figure out why he was wearing new clothes and his new attitude. Naruto noticed the new looks, but paid them no mind. He was still thinking about the academy.

When Naruto finally reached the doors of the academy he stopped for a moment. 'Okay, the old Naruto is gone. Now it's time to finally take my role as a ninja seriously. Heh, I can't wait until they get a look at me now.' Naruto thought with a smirk. He opened the doors and headed toward his future.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Iruka looked at the student before him. He could tell that this year's crop of students would be the best the village had seen in a long time. There was one child from each of the predominate clans in the village. Iruka looked at the potential ninja and saw a bright future for the village, but he noticed one student missing.

'Where is Naruto?' Iruka thought hoping that the child hadn't quit. Iruka saw a lot of himself in the child. They were both orphans who strived to have acceptance. At first he hated Naruto because of the kyuubi, but that soon changed when he got to know the child. Iruka sighed, he knew that Naruto had a lot of potential; he just didn't have anyone who could bring it out.

"Alright, quiet down. It's time for roll call." Iruka said.

"Kiba inuzuka"

"Here" a boy with a dog on his head said.

"Shino Aburame"

"Present" said a boy with sun glasses and a trench coat that covered everything but his upper face and head.

"Sasuke Uchiha"

"Here" said a boy dressed in a blue shirt with the Uchiha crest on the back and white shorts.

"Sakura Haruno"

"Here" said a girl with bright pink hair who was currently staring at the Uchiha with love in her eyes.

"Ino Yamanaka"

"Here" said a girl with blonde hair in a ponytail, and a purple outfit, who was also staring at the Uchiha with love in her eyes.

'Fangirls.' Iruka thought with a sigh.

"Choji Akimichi"

"Here" said a large boy with brown hair and a bag of chips in his hand, which he was currently eating.

"Shikamaru Nara"

"Troublesome" said a boy with black hair that was in a high ponytail and a bored expression on his face.

"Hinata Hyuga"

"Here" said a girl with blue hair, lavender eyes with no pupils, and who was wearing a beige coat that covered everything to her waist as well as blue pants.

"Naruto Uzumaki" Iruka called. There was no answer and the children started to comment.

"The dope must have dropped out." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, that's right, he couldn't do anything right anyway." Said Ino.

'This is great, with Naruto gone now I won't have anyone bugging me and Sasuke will be all mine' Sakura thought.

Every one of the students were thinking along the same lines as Sasuke and Ino except one.

'Naruto-kun, where are you? I know that you would never give up' Hinata thought. She had had a crush on the young boy since they entered the academy. His will to never give up as well as his cheerful personality gave the girl confidence in herself.

Suddenly the doors of the classroom opened, and in walked Naruto.

"Sorry I'm late Iruka-sensei" Naruto said.

"That's okay Naruto, just don't let it happen again" Iruka said sternly, even though he was relieved that the child had shown up.

As Iruka continued calling names, Naruto looked for an open seat. He saw one by Sakura and one by Hinata. While in the past he wouldn't have thought twice before sitting next to his crush Sakura, but he had changed from the child he once was. He realized that he only talked to Sakura because she would always pay attention to him. Granted she would hit him every time and call him names, but that didn't matter to him. In his mind, she was one of the most popular students and she acknowledged him somewhat. That made her the ideal person for him to try and date.

However, things had changed. He no longer strived for the attention of those that didn't like him, and Sakura had made it abundantly clear that she didn't like him. So with that in mind he walked past the seat beside Sakura and headed toward Hinata.

'Oh no Naruto-kun is headed toward me. Is he really going to sit beside me? What am I going to do?' thought the extremely shy girl. She may have liked Naruto for years but she could never say anything to him. She was so shy that even being around him could cause her to faint and when she did talk it was normally in a stutter.

Naruto sat down beside Hinata. Hinata had never been mean to him. When he thought about it she was probably one of the only people at the academy who didn't call him a failure or look down on him. He really didn't know that much about her except that she was a part of the Hyuga clan and possessed the byakugan. He had studied up on all of the clans during the break.

"Hey Hinata, you don't mind if I sit here do you?" Naruto asked kindly. He still didn't know what Hinata thought of him and was hoping that they could become friends.

Hinata, for her part, couldn't even look at Naruto before a blush came to her face and she began to twiddle her index fingers. "S-s-sure, N-n-naruto-k-kun" she said quietly.

A huge smile of relief came to Naruto's face. "Thanks a lot Hinata." He said. Hinata's blushed intensified and she broke eye contact with Naruto and stared at her desk.

While this was going on, everyone in the class stared at Naruto dumbfounded. Not only had he gotten rid of that horrid jumpsuit, but he completely ignored the seat beside Sakura, and sat beside Hinata. Even Iruka was stunned. Naruto had just passed up a chance to sit beside the girl that everyone knew he had a crush on only to sit beside the girl that had a crush on him.

'Well that's pretty ironic. What's gotten into you Naruto?' Iruka thought.

Naruto finally noticed the looks he was receiving and was confused at it. "Why are all of you staring at me?" he asked.

"What's up with you Naruto? Why are you wearing those cloths?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, stop trying to look cool like Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said.

Everyone expected Naruto to act hurt at Saukra's words and try to get a date. Naruto once again surprised them by not responding.

"Alright, that's enough." Iruka said. He hated how the kids always seemed to pick on Naruto, but he was surprised at how Naruto was controlling himself. "Let's go outside, we are going to start with testing how you have improved over the break."

After everyone had arrived at the training field Iruka broke them up between boys and girls. He had them line up and stand in front of the targets.

"Okay, you will be given 5 kunai and 5 shuriken. I want you to throw them at the targets." Iruka said.

The boy's went first. Shikamaru simply threw them, not caring where they hit and went to take a nap under a tree. Choji hit the target with 3 of his kunai and 2 of his shuriken. Shino was able to hit the bull's eye with 1 kunai, the others landed close, and hit the target with all of his shuriken. Kiba did the same as Choji, which was expected as neither of their respective clan techniques relied heavily on throwing projectiles. Sasuke stepped up, much to the joy of every female except Hinata, and took his position. He threw all of the kunai and shuriken at the same time and hit the bull's eye with all five of the kunai and four of the shuriken.

'Sasuke-kun is so amazing' every girl thought, once again with the exception of Hinata.

"Good job Sasuke, a near perfect score. Naruto it's your turn now." Iruka said.

Naruto stepped into position. "Try to actually hit something this time, dope." Sasuke said as he passed Naruto. Everyone expected Naruto to explode and fire back a retort, but Naruto stayed focused and didn't respond.

Naruto picked up all of the kunai threw them all at once. Then he did the same with the shuriken. Everyone had to pick their jaws off of the ground when they saw that every one of the projectiles had landed in the bull's eye.

"How was that Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked with a self satisfied look on his face.

"That was amazing Naruto! You just got a perfect score." Iruka exclaimed with pride. He didn't know how Naruto had improved so quickly, but he was happy that he was progressing.

"Don't look so smug Naruto! You were just lucky, you're still not as good as Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled. Many of the other students agreed but a few were looking at Naruto in a new light.

Naruto ignored them and started walking back to the end of the line with a smile on his face. Naruto saw Hinata looking at him with a small smile of approval. This brought an even larger smile to Naruto's face, which in turn brought a large blush to Hinata's face.

'I wonder why she does that.' Naruto thought.

The girls went next. Sakura was able to hit the target with three of her kunai and 2 of her shuriken.

"How did I do Sasuke-kun?" She asked. Sasuke for his part simply ignored her.

When it was Hinata's turn, she looked at the bull's eye and saw that Naruto was looking at her.

'Oh no, Naruto-kun is looking at me what if I mess up? What if he thinks that I'm a failure?' she thought as her hand started to shake.

Naruto noticed that Hinata was shaking slightly. He walked up to her and grabbed her hand to stop it from shaking.

"Do your best Hinata." He said with a small smile.

Hinata barely heard his words as she was frozen from the fact that her crush was holding her hand, and was desperately trying not to faint. 'Naruto-kun is holding my hand' she thought with a blush that threatened to spread over her whole body.

'Must not faint, Must not faint.' she told herself.

Naruto noticed that Hinata had failed to respond. He saw that she had a dazed look on her face.

"Hinata you okay?" he asked.

Hinata snapped out of her stupor and looked at Naruto.

"Y-y-yes." She stuttered.

"Hinata, you're up." Iruka called.

Hinata quickly ran to her spot leaving a confused Naruto behind.

"Man she's weird." Naruto said.

Hinata looked at the target and became nervous again until she looked at Naruto and saw a smile of encouragement on his face. Suddenly feeling more confident, she threw her kunai and shuriken. Three of her kunai hit the target with one hitting the bull's eye. Four of her shuriken hit the target, though none hit the bull's eye.

"Good job Hinata. You have the highest score of the girls and Naruto has the highest score of the boys. Alright let's go to the obstacle course." Iruka said.

While everyone followed Iruka, Naruto walked toward Hinata.

'Naruto-kun is coming this way. What if he thinks that I didn't do well?' Hinata thought, suddenly afraid of his reaction.

"That was great Hinata!" Naruto said with a smile.

Hinata blushed and started to twiddle her fingers. "T-t-thank you N-n-naruto-kun. I think that you did great as well." She said.

Naruto was stunned for a second. Other than a few people, no one usually complimented him. Hinata was the first person in his age group who had actually given him a compliment and it made him happy.

"Thanks Hinata. Come on we have to get to the obstacle course." Naruto said with a small but genuine smile on his face. He then grabbed her hand the close contact, however, caused Hinata to faint.

"What happened to her?!" Naruto said. He picked her up and began to run to Iruka.

At the obstacle course, Iruka looked at his students and noticed that Hinata and Naruto were missing, until he saw Naruto running toward him with Hinata in his arms.

"Iruka-sensei, Hinata suddenly collapsed! Do you think I should take her to the nurse?" Naruto asked worriedly. Hinata seemed to be someone who would be his friend and he didn't want anything to happen to her.

Iruka could only smile. Only Naruto would be oblivious to Hinata's crush toward him.

"She'll be fine Naruto. Just give her some room." Iruka said with a smile.

Naruto placed her under a tree and went to stand in line. When Hinata woke up she looked around to see everyone in line to take the obstacle course. She hurriedly got into line behind Naruto.

"Hey Hinata you feeling better?" Naruto asked concerned.

'He cares about how I feel? Oh kami, if this is a dream please don't wake me up.' Hinata thought.

"Y-yes Naruto-kun, I feel better." She said.

"I'm glad." Naruto said as he went to take the obstacle course.

"Naruto-kun do your best." Hinata said with a blush.

Naruto looked at her and once again felt happy that someone in his class actually believed in him.

"I will Hinata." He said kindly.

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After the obstacle course the students went outside to have lunch while the teacher's evaluated their scores.

Naruto looked around for a place to sit when he saw Hinata sitting all by herself.

'Hinata has been the only person to be nice to me today. I wonder why.' Naruto thought. He wasn't used to being accepted and acknowledged, especially from his peers, so he was interested in why Hinata was so nice toward him when everyone else treated him with indifference or scorn.

"Hey Hinata, do you mind if I eat with you?" Naruto asked while walking toward her.

Hinata snapped out of her thoughts. She was thinking about how Naruto had seemed to be so different today. He was quieter, more reserved, much better at throwing projectiles, and if what she had heard from Iruka-sensei whisper to another teacher, then Naruto had done very well on the obstacle course as well. Another thing that she had noticed was Naruto's smile. While Naruto used to smile at seemingly everything in the past, even if it was ridicule, that smile seemed fake to her somehow. She noticed how Naruto never had his eyes open when he gave that smile. She could see the sadness that he tried to had behind that smile and it made her sad that he had to hide his emotions. She was also upset at herself for not being able to comfort him when he was sad because of her own insecurities.

The smile that Naruto had now, however, was not as large as his previous smiles, nor did they appear as frequently, but she could see that these smiles were more real. They didn't hide his pain. They expressed his joy and happiness. She much preferred the smiles that he used now.

She looked up at Naruto. "I d-don't m-mind Naruto-kun" she said with a small smile as well as a blush.

Naruto sat down and began to eat. He was glad that Hinata didn't seem to mind him at all. Everyone else still picked at him and called him names, but Hinata didn't. She didn't seem to judge him and actually encouraged him. He still didn't understand why she would blush so much around him or why she always seemed to stutter, but so far she was the friendliest student in his class toward him.

They sat in silence for a long time until Naruto decided to ask the question that had been bugging him from the beginning of the class.

"Hey Hinata, not that I don't mind but why are you different than the other students?" he asked.

Hinata looked at him in fear. 'Oh no does he mean that he thinks that I'm weird or that I'm not as good as everyone else?' she thought.

"I mean, you don't look at me with indifference or ridicule me. You actually congratulated me when everyone else tried to put me down. Why do you act so differently toward me?" Nartuo asked with confusion. He couldn't understand why Hinata would be so nice to him. She didn't even know him and yet she was the only one to look at him with kindness and approval. He couldn't care less about what the others students seemed to think about the new him. They went right back to ridiculing him, excluding him, and treating him like an idiot. They were just like the villagers in his opinion, but Hinata was different and he wanted to understand why.

Hinata was at a lost as to what to say. She certainly couldn't tell Naruto that she had a crush on him and at the same time she didn't want to fail to respond. He might take her silence the wrong way.

'I can't tell him my feelings, but I also don't want to hurt his feelings by staying silent. What should I do?' Hinata thought. Thankfully, she was saved from answering when the bell rang. Hinata let out a sigh of relief as she stood up.

"I t-think t-that we s-should get back to class N-naruto-kun." She said.

Naruto could see that she was relived for the distraction. He didn't want to pry. He would accept her friendliness and wouldn't pressure her. If she wanted to tell him her reasons than that was her decision.

"It's okay Hinata, you don't have to tell me. Just tell me, would you like to be my friend." Naruto asked quietly, afraid that she might not want to be friends with someone like him.

Hinata was currently on cloud nine. Naruto, her crush Naruto, wanted _her _as a friend. She was so happy that she almost fainted, but she knew that he might take that as a rejection and that knowledge kept her conscious.

"I w-would l-like that Naruto-kun." She said with a small smile and blush on her face.

A wide smile appeared on Naruto's face. He had made his first friend and the day wasn't even over yet!

"Great! We'll be the best of friends Hinata." He said "Come on we don't want to late to class."

"H-hai" Hinata said, also happy about the recent development.

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The rest of the day went smoothly for Naruto. His grade in the obstacle course was right behind Sasuke's. His massive improvement, coupled with his new attitude caused many to question what was up with Naruto. He nearly caused an uproar when he started answering some of the questions in class correctly.

When the day came to an end Iruka decided to find out what caused such an improvement. He saw Naruto talking to Hinata.

"Hey Naruto wait up." He said.

Naruto looked up at Iruka. "Huh, okay Iruka-sensei. I'll see you tomorrow Hinata." He said with a wide grin that caused the poor girl to blush from head to toe.

"O-okay N-naruto-kun." She said as she left. To her this was one of the best days she had had in a long time.

After she had left Iruka confronted Nartuo.

"Naruto, what happened over the break? You stopped wearing such bright colors; you don't react to the student when they pick on you, your skills have improved drastically, and you actually participate during the lecture." Iruka said.

Naruto looked at Iruka for a while before answering.

"The day I failed the genin exam for the second time, I met a man. He told me that I shouldn't care what those who don't care about me think or say. I only need to concern myself with those who actually care for me for who I am. That's why I don't respond to their taunts. As long as those who are precious to me believe in me and are proud of me than that's all I need. You were always like a big brother to me Iruka-sensei so I hold your opinion of me in high esteem. I know you don't think that I'm a loser or a drop-out and that's enough for me. The man also told me that I didn't know what it meant to be Hokage and he was right. So I asked the old man what it really meant to be the Hokage. I now know that being Hokage isn't about the title or the respect that comes with the job; it's about caring about the people of this village and being willing to protect them. That's why I'm going to become Hokage for, so that I can defend and protect all those that are precious to me." Naruto said with an intense expression on his face. "As for my skills, well you can thank me nee-san for that." Naruto said.

Iruka was very impressed. Naruto was changing for the better right before his eyes. He asked many questions. Such as whom the man was, what else he had learned over the break, and who his nee-san was. He was very surprised with the answers. Naruto didn't know the identity of the man; his chakra control had improved drastically, he had learned the henge and replacement jutsu, his taijutsu was something that he wanted to keep secret, and while Naruto couldn't caste a genjutsu, he could dispel one with a chakra pulse. Iruka's eyes nearly left his head when he found out that Anko was the women that Naruto thought of as a sister.

"My Naruto you have improved a great deal. You may even be able to make rookie of the year if you keep it up. So to celebrate your first day how about we go get some ramen." He said.

Naruto's face lit up. "That would be great Iruka-sensei." He said as he walked to the front door.

"One thing though Naruto." Iruka said stopping him. "What's up between you and Hinata?" Iruka said with a small smile on his face.

"Huh? Oh well Hinata agreed to be my friend. She is the only one who has been nice to me. She doesn't make fun of me, she congratulates me when I do something well, and she just seems like a nice person." Naruto said, not really comprehending what Iruka-sensei was trying to infer.

Iruka had the same smile on his face. Saying nothing he walked past Naruto toward the ramen stand.

'Maybe you'll understand her feelings toward you one day Naruto.' He thought.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

And so things went in the academy for six months. Naruto continued to score high in the class for projectiles, ninjutsu, and taijutsu, though he refrained from using the dragon style as he wanted to save that for the graduation exam. So when it came time for taijutsu he simply used one of the many styles that made up the dragon style, and while it was nowhere near perfect, he was proficient enough to be in the upper part of the class when it came to taijutsu. His progression had gained the attention of many of the students and teachers. Many teachers were wondering how he had progressed so quickly and were evaluating their treatment of him, especially when Iruka was around. He never condoned what they did to Naruto and would defend him against anyone who tried to speak ill of him.

Naruto and Iruka's relationship progressed to the point that they went for ramen almost every night. Naruto had begun to call him Iruka-nii-san. Interestingly enough, Anko would pick Naruto up of Friday so that they could begin training, and Naruto was sure that he had never seen Iruka blush as bright as he did when he saw Anko, nor had he ever seen Anko express such an interest in a man. Many times he found himself being asked by one about the other.

Naruto and Hinata friendship had progressed as well, albeit slowly. They became more comfortable around each other which caused Hinata to lose her stutter. She did, however, still blush around naruto but she rarely fainted unless he were to hug her in excitement or do something else along the same lines.

Naruto had also become good friends with Shino. One day when Naruto and Hinata were eating he saw Shino all by himself and so Naruto headed over and asked if he wanted to join them. Shino was at first skeptical. He was never very social and people tended to leave his clan alone because of their relationship to bugs. When Shino expressed this and showed Naruto the insects inside his body Naruto simply stated that it made Shino different and different wasn't bad. Shino had never had someone express an interest in his companionship, nor had he ever met someone who didn't think that his bugs were gross. He decided to eat with them and they all became fast friends.

Everything wasn't easy for Naruto, however. Aside from Shino and Hinata, everyone else seemed to treat him the same, if not worse, then before. Sakura and Ino continually tried to put him down and claim that he was trying to be cool like their "Sasuke-kun". Sasuke himself saw Naruto as someone to test his strength against. However, Naruto refused to fight Sasuke as he said that he had nothing to prove to the Uchiha. This did not sit well with Sasuke and the two had been on bad terms ever sense. Sasuke would continually try to badger Naruto into a spar or a competition and Naruto would continually ignore Sasuke taunts.

The other teachers began to change their view of Naruto and began to treat him fairly, except for a select few. One of these was Mizuki. He pretended to be nice to Naruto when they first met, but Naruto saw through his farce. After this event, Mizuki tried his hardest to fail Naruto, discretely of course. Whether it was by trying to give him harder exams then the other or by failing to acknowledge Naruto's answers during class and penalize him for missed answers. This stopped, however, when Iruka found out and brought the matter to the Hokage. Mizuki was fired from the academy and demoted to genin. This was considered merciful considering what Anko wanted to do to the man who tried to fail her otouto. **(an: little brother)**

We now find Naruto walking toward the academy. He was in a good mood as the academy was half over and he was already in the top ten percent of the class. He could have been higher, but his genjustu skills and his refine from using the dragon taijutsu style kept him where he was. As he entered the room he found that Hinata was not in their usual spot. He looked around and didn't see her anywhere. He sat down beside Shino wondering where Hinata could be.

"Hey Shino, have you seen Hinata today?" Naruto asked.

"No." was all Shino said. Naruto and Hinata had learned that Shino was a man of few words and his responses were always short and to the point.

Naruto sighed and was beginning to worry as Hinata had never missed a day of school, even when she was sick. She said that she preferred to be at the academy than home. Naruto didn't understand that but didn't pry into her personal affairs. Naruto was brought out of his wonderings when he saw the door open and Hinata come in with her head down. This confused Naruto as Hinata confidence had increased greatly after becoming friends with him and Shino.

Hinata sat down beside Naruto without saying a word. She didn't even make eye contact with him or Shino. The boys looked at each other in confusion as to her strange behavior.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Naruto asked. All he received in the way of an answer was a stifled sob.

"Hinata, what is it?" Naruto asked. She still didn't reply.

"Hinata, we are your friends, you can tell use what's wrong." Shino said with a kind voice unlike his normally stoic tone.

Hinata said nothing, all she did was raise her head. The boys saw that she had white medical tape wrapped around her forehead, and her eyes were filled with dispar.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Here's chapter 3. If I screwed up the Naruto and Hinata interaction then please forgive me. This is the first time that I have written something like this. Please review and tell me what you think of my story. If you have any suggestions then I am open to your opinions. Next time: Hinata's Pain. Kyuubi123 out. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Hinata's Pain.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, obviously.**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto and Shino were stunned by the look of utter despair and loss that was in Hinata's eyes. They saw none of the joy or happiness that was usually present in her eyes. All they saw was pain, despair, and an utter lack of feeling. Her eyes almost appeared dead. They were at a complete loss of what to do or what was wrong. Hinata failed to answer any questions that either of them asked. She simply kept her head down and refused to say anything. Naruto and Shino were equally confused and sad. What could have happened to their friend to cause such behavior?

Neither Hinata's demeanor nor her attitude changed throughout the day. She didn't talk to either of the boys at lunch, or during class. Her efforts in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu were abysmal; it was as if she had no will to even try. Any questions that the boys asked were met with silence or a sob of grief. Naruto tried everything he could to cheer her up, but all of his efforts had failed. When the day came to an end the boys knew as much then about her behavior as they did at the beginning of class, absolutely nothing. When it came time for the children to leave, the boys noticed that Hinata hadn't moved an inch.

"Hinata, aren't you going to go home?" Naruto asked.

Hinata said nothing but she seemed to shrink even further into herself.

"Hinata let's go." A voice called out.

The boy's turned to see a beautiful woman with long black hair and ruby red eyes. She was dressed in what appeared to be white wrappings that went down to just above her knees. Her top looked like a white vest over a fishnet shirt that had one sleeve cut off and the other sleeve was blood red and came down to her wrist. Neither of the boys had ever seen her before.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"My name is Kurenai Yuhi. And I'm here to pick up Hinata." She said. Hinata walked up to her without raising her head and walked out with the woman who seemed to be trying to comfort her.

"Shino, what the heck do you think is wrong with Hinata. I mean she didn't say a word to us all day." Naruto asked perplexed and saddened by his best friend's actions.

"I don't know Naruto. There is probably more to the situation than we understand. We can only be there for her, give her space, and hope that she either gets over what troubles her or asks us for help." Shino said.

"Yeah I guess." Naruto replied, not at all feeling good about the situation or the inability to do anything about it.

Hinata's behavior did not improve for the rest of the week. It actually became worse. She began sitting away from Naruto and Shino and began to avoid them at lunch. Naruto and Shino were deeply worried about their friend but were still hoping that she would soon resolve her problem or ask them for help. Sadly, neither of this two options happened.

By the end of the week Shino had had enough. "Naruto, I think that you should talk to Hinata." He said.

"What do you mean? I have been talking to her the whole week." The blonde boy said.

"Whatever is happening with Hinata does not seem to be getting better. I think that it's time for someone to break through the wall she is erecting around herself and help her." Shino said.

"I thought that you said we should give her space." Naruto said.

"That's because I was hoping that she would have changed by now, but that is not the case. Drastic measures must be taken." Shino said.

"Why me though? Why do you think that she will respond to me?" Naruto asked.

Shino was silent for a moment. He knew that Hinata liked Naruto, anyone with half a brain could see that. He had also decided to say nothing about it as he thought that it was her secret and her decision when she told him. Thus he didn't want to tell Naruto that she would most likely respond to him because he was her crush.

"If the women who picks her up can't get through to her then it must be you. You have known her longer and are closer to her than I am." Shino said trying to cover up the truth.

"Fine, but what if she doesn't respond?" Naruto asked.

"Then you must make her respond. Normally I wouldn't dare invade someone's privacy like this but if something doesn't change then we could lose her as a friend." Shino said with a hint of worry in his voice.

"No! Hinata is my best friend and I won't lose her!" Naruto said.

"Then I suggest that you hurry up because she is leaving." Shino said.

Naruto saw that Hinata was leaving and hurried after her.

Shino watched his friend run off. "Help her Naruto, you are the only one who can."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Hinata! Wait up." Naruto yelled as he ran after his first friend.

Hinata did not stop. She actually began to run from Naruto.

When Naruto saw this he became angry. He was not about to let her get away and continue to do this to herself and her friends.

Hinata ran faster and faster to try and avoid Naruto. She eventually found herself at one of the numerous training grounds. Naruto came up behind her and grabbed her.

"Please let me go Naruto." She said softly without lifting her head or turning toward him.

Naruto noticed the lack of –kun at the end of his name and was surprised to find that it hurt him slightly.

"Not until we talk Hinata." He said firmly, not releasing his hold even slightly.

"We have nothing to talk about Naruto." Hinata said in the same tone as before.

"Like heck we don't! You have been acting weird all week. You don't talk to me or Shino, you don't even try during training, and worse you have even started avoiding us! Tell me why!" Naruto yelled.

Hinata flinched at his tone but otherwise didn't respond. Naruto was becoming angry. He turned Hinata toward him and lifted her head.

"Tell me." He said firmly with a bit of a tremor.

Hinata looked into the eyes of the boy she had a crush on and saw the pain that he was feeling because of her actions.

"Okay." She said quietly dropping her head once again.

Naruto released her slowly, in case she tried to run. Hinata continued to look toward the ground while she spoke.

"Naruto, you and Shino are the best friends that I have ever had. You both are smart, caring, and strong. I know that one day you both will obtain your dreams. You will become the Hokage and Shino will become a great clan leader." Hinata said.

Naruto looked at her in awe. She believed in him. She truly believed that he would become Hokage. He had never heard Hinata express her feelings so openly before. His mood changed as Hinata continued, however.

"That's why I have begun to avoid you Nartuo. I don't want to hold you back from your dream." Hinata said with a tremor in her voice.

Naruto was confused by her words.

"What do you mean Hinata? You never hold me or Shino back. You are our friend." He said desperately wanting to understand.

"I will eventually Naruto. I am a failure. I fail at everything that I try and I can never do anything right. If I continue to be around you I will only become a burden and I don't want to burden you." Hinata said in an incredibly sad voice, with tears in her eyes.

Naruto could only look at her. 'What could be causing her to say these things? Who told her this crap?' He thought.

"That's not true Hinata. You have never nor will you _ever_ be a burden." Naruto said.

"But I am a burden Naruto. You should leave me alone and focus on your dream. I will only slow you down." She said in a defeated voice.

Naruto was becoming enraged. "Who put this crap in your head Hinata! Why do you think that you are failure and a burden when you clearly aren't!?" he yelled.

Hinata didn't flinch. She didn't do anything except ask one question.

"Naruto, what do you know about the Hyuga clan?" she said very quietly.

Naruto wondered at the strange change in topic but answered her question.

"The Hyuga clan is one of the most powerful clans in Konoha. They possess the byakugan, which is a very powerful dojutsu said to be on par with the sharingan. Your clan is said to possess the all seeing eye and are able to see through any illusions." Naruto said.

"You are right except for two things Naruto." She said.

"One is that there is a division in the clan. There are those of the main house how are in control and those who are in the branch family. The branch family members are under the main house members and must obey their commands. The branch family is branded with a seal that keeps them in submission. It is called the caged bird seal. It is placed on all those of the branch family so that when they die the byakugan is sealed and so that if they get out of hand the main house can use the seal to cause them extreme pain and possibly death." She said.

Naruto once again was confused. He didn't see the point of the seal. It seemed to be only an excuse for those of the main house to be a bunch of bullies. Even the explanation of protecting the byakugan was faulty. If the clan was worried about the byakugan falling into the wrong hands then they would put the seal on every child.

"I still don't see what this has to do with you Hinata. I already know that you are the heiress of the Hyuga clan." He said not sure where she was going with this.

"That is the second thing that you are wrong about Naruto." She said as she finally looked at him and took off the medical tape. "I am no longer the heiress, nor am I a Hyuga any longer." She said as she presented the cage bird seal on her head to her oldest friend.

Naruto was shocked beyond words. 'Hinata has the cage bird seal on her head?! She is no longer a Hyuga? What the heck is going on?!' he thought.

"What do you mean Hinata?" he said fearing the answer he was sure was coming.

"I have been banished from the clan Naruto." She said with a pain and grief filled voice. "My father put the seal on me and kicked me out. He said that I wasn't even worthy of being in the branch family because I was so weak. Kurenai-sama adopted me and took me in. Hinata Hyuga is dead, I am Hinata Yuhi now." She said with a tears streaming down her eyes.

"That's why you must forget about me Naruto! I am nothing but a failure! The whole clan thought so. No one gave me a compassionate look, no one tried to console me. They all looked at me as if I was nothing. As if all they saw was a burden that needed to be disposed of. So please Naruto don't let me burden you, please just leave." She said and she broke down and began crying.

Naruto was frozen where he was. 'She was treated by her family the same way the villagers treat me.' He thought. He saw the same look of desperation, grief and pain in her that had plagued him for years.

Naruto instantly went from sad to anger. 'How dare they do that to Hinata! They kick her out; destroy whatever little faith she had in herself and put the caged bird seal on her head!' Naruto was livid. He desperately wanted to break some heads, but he was able to bring himself under control when he realized that his anger wasn't going to help Hinata. Though, he promised himself that one day he would find the ones responsible and kami have mercy on them.

Hinata continued to weep as she felt two warm arms pull her into an equally warm chest. She realized that Naruto hadn't left as she expected him to do. He had stayed and was now comforting her. This would have normally caused Hinata to faint but instead she wrapped her arms around his body and cried out all of the grief, pain, sorrow, and loss that she felt.

Naruto simply stood there comforting her. He didn't say anything as nothing needed to be said. She just needed someone to hold her and let her let it out. He knew what she was feeling and knew that all she needed was the comfort of someone who cared.

When Hinata's cries had slowed down to silent weeping, Naruto pulled back and lifted her face to his again.

"They're wrong." He said simply.

"What do you mean Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"They are wrong. You aren't a failure. They are all idiots if they believe that." He said smiling slightly at her usage of –kun.

Hinata was shocked. How could anyone say that? The Hyuga clan was one of, if not the most prestigious clan in Konoha. How could they all be wrong when they possessed the eyes said to be able to see everything.

"How could they all be wrong Naruto-kun? They have the byakugan." She said in confusion.

"So what? If they can't see what a great person and ninja you are then they are not only wrong but blind." He said with a smile.

"They can't all be wrong Naruto-kun. I must really be a failure." She said once again dropping her head.

Naruto could see that he was getting through to her but she was going to need a little more convincing.

"Hinata follow me." He said as he grabbed her hand.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto took her to the Hokage Mountain and they stood on the fourth's head.

"This is where I come to think and just away from it all Hinata." He said.

"Why did you bring me here Naruto-kun?" she asked.

Naruto looked out at the village, once again allowing himself to remember how many people despised him.

"I know exactly how you feel Hinata." He said at last.

"Almost everyone in this village, except for a select few, hate me." He said as Hinata gasped at his comment.

"They all look at me with scorn and hate. To them I am nothing but a stain that needs to be erased. Parents tell children not to play with me. I am called monster and sometimes demon. I am picked on, ridiculed, and have always been told that I will never amount to anything." He said with an emotionless voice.

Hinata was in tears as she heard how Naruto was treated by their own village.

"Why? Why do they hate you Naruto-kun?" she asked as he turned to her.

"I don't know why Hinata. But that isn't the point. Do you think that they're right?" he asked her seriously.

Hinata was shocked that he would ask such a question. "No! You aren't a demon or a monster!" she yelled.

"But the majority of them think so." He stated.

"Then they are idiots! They don't truly know you and don't know what they are talking about. You aren't a monster!" she said.

Naruto smiled at her. "And you aren't a failure." He said softly.

"You are Hinata Yuhi, you are my best friend, you are the best female ninja in the class, and you aren't a failure." He said strongly.

Hinata was brought to tears over his declaration, but these were no longer tears of sadness but of joy. She was once again wrapped in a hug by Naruto and this time gladly returned the affection.

'He doesn't think that I'm a failure.' She thought with glee.

Naruto looked over at the village as he continued to speak to her.

"You know a wise man gave me some advice in this exact spot." He said as she looked up at him.

"He told me not to worry about what the villagers think of me and that I shouldn't strive for their acknowledgement. He told me that the only people whose opinions should matter to me are those that truly care and know me. Hinata, can you think of one time that your clan had encouraged you, or showed they cared?" he asked.

Hinata thought back but all she saw was the ridicule they gave her. She was never praised after her mother died. She was put down and her confidence and spirit almost crushed.

"No" she said to Naruto.

"Then I want you to think about all those that care for you." He said.

Hinata's thoughts went to Iruka, Shino, Kurenai and most of all Naruto. None of them had ever thought of her as a failure. Naruto and Shino had befriended her. Iruka-sensei always encouraged her. Kurenai had adopted her and opened her home to the young girl. She now saw that they were the ones that truly mattered to her. She didn't need to worry about what her clan thought as they never wanted to give her a chance. A smile appeared on her face as she pulled back from Naruto.

"You are right Naruto-kun. My family never cared for me except my mother who died. My father was always cold, and my sister took after him. I was never given a chance. They made their minds up about me and refused to change them." She said.

"And that's why you shouldn't concern yourself about them anymore. They gave you up so they have no say over you." He said.

"I'm sorry for the way I have been acting Naruto-kun." She said.

"No, I am the one who is sorry Hinata. My goal for being the Hokage is so that I can protect everyone that is precious to me. I swear to you that I will find a way to get rid of that seal Hinata-chan." He said.

Hinata could believe it. She thought that Naruto would have left her or called her a failure, but neither of those things happened. He believed in her and said that he would protect and free her from the seal.

Naruto released her and looked out over the village.

"HEY MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI AND I WILL BECOME HOKAGE TO PROTECT AND DEFEND ALL THOSE PRECIOUS TO ME!" he yelled at the top of his voice.

Hinata smiled at Naruto's actions and stood beside him.

"MY NAME IS HINATA YUHI AND I WILL BECOME A GREAT KUNOICHI ONE DAY!" she yelled.

Naruto turned to her with a smile. 'You already are a great kunoichi Hinata.' He thought.

They both looked over the village as the sun began to set and Naruto took Hinata's hand as they watched the village bathed in the last rays of the sun.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kurenai Yuhi was one of the best female ninjas in the village. She was recently made a jonin and was quite proud of her accomplishment. She had known Hinata since the girl was young and she had escorted her to the academy. She hated Hiashi Hyuga and the entire clan with a passion for what they done to the girl. Not only did they treat her like scum for the first 12 years of her life but they had the audacity to brand her with the caged bird seal and kick her out into the street because they thought that she was weak. Kurenai had adopted the girl to give her a place to stay as well as to comfort her. However, Hinata was like a statue to her. She didn't say much of anything and continued to call her Kurenai-sama despite being told repeatedly to call her Kurenai-nee-san. Kurenai had been told about Hinata decline in the academy but couldn't get through to the girl. She feared that the Hyugas had finally broken her spirit.

Right now Kurenai was waiting for Hinata to get home. She had had a mission and couldn't pick her up from school. It was getting late and she was beginning to worry when the front door opened. She saw Hinata walk in and immediately saw a difference. Hinata was holding her head high and there was a smile on her face.

"Hinata, where have you been?" Kurenai asked.

"Gomen Kurenai-nee-san but I was with Naruto-kun." She said with a smile.

Kurenai was shocked. Hinata was speaking again, called her nee-san, and admitted to being with Naruto.

"Oh really, well what happened between you two?" Kurenai asked with a slight smirk.

"I-it wasn't l-like that Nee-san!" Hinata stuttered as she began to blush.

Kurenai just laughed. It seems that whatever happened between them had solved Hinata's problem and brought her from the brink of despair.

"I'm just kidding Hinata. Well why don't you go get washed up and rest, I'll start dinner." She said.

"Nee-san do you think that you could teach me to cook?" Hinata asked shyly.

'Some things never change.' Kurenai thought. "Of course you can help Hinata. Are you planning to cook for someone special?" she said with a smirk.

"Nee-san!" Hinata yelled as her blush intensified.

Kurenai just laughed.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The next week came and Hinata was back to her old self, with a few changes. She would still blush around Naruto but her fainting had all but ceased. She now wore an indigo blue bandana over the seal on her forehead that Naruto had given her. She had also shed the large bulky beige coat she used to wear and began wearing a smaller indigo coat that was easier to move in and matched her head band, as well as black pants that ended just under her knees. Naruto had brought Shino up to speed on Hinata's behavior and Shino had simply said that he thought no less of her and was still her friend.

Naruto discovered that Kurenai and Anko were actually the best of friends and all four of them began to train over the weekends. They discovered that Hinata was built for the serpent taijutsu style because of her lithe form and flexibility. Hinata was overjoyed. Not only was she around teachers who cared for her but she was able to spend time with Naruto as well. Shino would actually join them when he could and the three became closer, not only as friends but also as a team.

This is the way that the academy progressed for the next six months until it was finally time for the graduation exam. The exam would cover ninjutsu, a written portion and a taijutsu spar.

The written test was given first and Naruto, Hinata, and Shino all scored high.

When it came time for the taijutsu spar, Shino was the first to go and his opponent was Ino. Needless to say that it was a quick fight as Ino didn't even want to touch the "creepy bug guy".

Hinata went up against Kiba and to everyone's surprise, except for her friends, was able to defeat the boy with a swift kick to the stomach that launched him from the ring.

Shikamaru fought Saukra and promptly gave up; saying that fighting a girl was too troublesome.

Choji fought some no name student and defeated him.

Then it came down to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Heh, you can't run away now dobe." Sauke said. This was what he had been waiting for, a chance to prove himself against a worthy opponent.

'Worthy, but still beneath me.' Sasuke thought.

Naruto didn't reply. He was sick and tired of Sasuke's mouth and felt the need to shut him up. 'Looks like it's time to show Sasuke what I can really do.' He thought.

As they got into position, Sasuke was the first to attack. He came from the left and tried to punch Naruto in the face. Naruto simply moved his head out of the way. Sasuke had been anticipating this and tried to sweep kick Naruto's feet out. Naruto once again simply dodged. Sasuke was becoming increasingly annoyed. Naruto dodged every attack he threw at him with little to no difficulty.

"Fight back dobe." He said.

Naruto simply stared at him. "Oh is it my turn? I can't believe that that's all you got." He said as he charged Sasuke looking to punch him. Sasuke put his guard up only for Naruto to change from one style of taijutsu to a completely different style in a second to kick him in the stomach.

'What the heck was that? I was sure that he was attacking with the crane style and then he suddenly switched to the lotus?' Sasuke wondered.

He didn't have time to contemplate this as Naruto was on him once again. The fight became one sided as Sasuke couldn't keep up with Naruto. Every time he tried to guess Naruto's next move Naruto would change styles and catch him off guard. It was like fighting three or four different styles at once.

Naruto ended the fight by changing from a serpent style punch to an iron fist style kick that caught Sauske in the chest and launched him out of the ring.

"The winner is Naruto." Iruka said with pride.

Everyone was dumbfounded, including Hinata and Shino. Naruto had never used the dragon style in front of them before and it was amazing. The way he switched between styles so easily was astonishing.

"Naruto-kun what was that?" Hinata asked.

"Yes I would like to know as well." Shino said.

"Well it's a style that I have been working on for the last year it's called the true dragon style and was given to me.' Naruto said slightly embarrassed.

"Why haven't you used it before Naruto." Iruka asked as Sasuke finally rose to his feet.

Naruto shrugged. "I didn't want to use it against a comrade if I had a choice and it is a long way from being finished. I can only incorporate three to four styles at once. The true dragon style has dozens of different styles. Some of which I've never seen before." Naruto said.

"Well whatever it was doesn't matter as you have passed the taijutsu portion of the exam. Alright everyone let's go inside for the ninjutsu portion." Iruka said.

As everyone began to reenter the academy Naruto was stopped by Sasuke.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked exasperated.

"Give me the scroll for that style, I want to learn it." Sasuke demanded.

"I will answer that in this order. No, No, No, and Heck No!" Naruto said as he walked past the fuming Uchiha.

"Don't turn your back on me! You may be good at taijutsu but I am still better than you." Sasuke said.

"So what if you are?" Naruto asked, not bothering to turn around.

"You are the one keeping score. I don't care if you're better than me or if I'm better than you. It means nothing to me." Naruto said. "You're the one who feels the need to compare our skills and the one who keeps challenging me because you want to know if you're the best. I personally couldn't care less. The world doesn't revolve around you Sasuke. I don't know how long you have been waiting to fight me and I don't care. I can guarantee you that fighting and beating you were not on my top list of things to do. Get over yourself." Naruto said as he continued to walk to class.

'I will prove myself superior to you Naruto. Just wait.' Sasuke thought as he went to class as well.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

When everyone had reentered the class, Iruka began the ninjutsu portion of the class.

"Okay you all must perform a henge, substitution, and a bushin to pass." He said, looking at Naruto worriedly. Naruto, despite his vast improvement, couldn't make one decent clone.

Shino and Hinata looked at Naruto in fear.

"Naruto-kun can you even make a clone?" she asked.

"Nope." Naruto said with a smile on his face.

"Then why are you so confident?" Shino asked.

"That is a secret." Naruto said, enjoying the confused looks on his friend's faces.

'That must be why that man keeps saying it. It's kind of fun.' Naruto said.

"Shino." Iruka called.

Shino nodded to his friends and went to take the exam. He came back shortly with his ninja head band around his head.

"Good job Shino." Naruto said as Hinata nodded.

"Make sure that you do the same." He said on return. They had known Shino long enough to know that that meant "thanks".

Hinata went next and came back shortly with her ninja head band around her neck. Naruto wondered at the odd placement.

"Hey Hinata-chan, why are you wearing your head band around your neck?" he asked.

Hinata blushed. The reason was because she wanted to keep the indigo head band Naruto had given her around her forehead, but she couldn't say that of course.

"Um I just want to try something different." She said.

Naruto brushed it off as a weird girl thing and waited for his turn to come.

When it was Naruto's turn he began his descent, but not before Hinata grabbed his hand.

He turned to her and saw a blush spreading over her entire face.

"Do your best Naruto-kun." She said meekly as Shino nodded his head in agreement.

"I will Hinata-chan besides I can't be the leader of our team unless I become a ninja." He said with a smile as he walked off.

Hinata watched him go with a warm feeling in her chest. He wanted to pass so that they could be on a team together. He also wanted to pass so that he could eventually become Hokage but it seemed that he cared about them as a whole before he cared about himself. This was another reason why Hinata liked our blonde hero.

'He is so selfless.' She thought with a small smile.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto stood in front of Iruka and another teacher.

"Alright Naruto, I want you to use a henge, a substitution, and a clone to pass the ninjutsu portion." Iruka said.

Naruto concentrated and henged into the fourth Hokage. Iruka and the teacher beside him were sure that the fourth was reborn when they saw the intense blue eyes that the former leader was known for. When Naruto released the henge the teachers were shaking slightly.

"That was amazing Naruto. I really thought that I was looking at the fourth." Iruka said.

Naruto blushed slightly under the praise. "Well the fourth is my hero and I want to surpass him eventually." He said.

Naruto then did a substitution with the teacher sitting beside him.

Naruto took a deep breath and went through the signs for a clone. Suddenly ten Narutos where standing beside him.

"Amazing Naruto I can't believe that you mastered the clone jutsu!" Iruka exclaimed.

"I didn't." Naruto said laughing at their confused expressions.

"I have always had too much chakra and not enough control to use the regular clone jutsu so I used a shadow clone." He said.

The teachers had to pick their jaws off of the floor. Here was a genin who could use shadow clones and use it without showing any sign of chakra exhaustion that was said to accompany the jutsu.

"Who taught that to you Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"My nee-san." Naruto said simply. Anko wanted to make sure that her little brother passed the exam this time and taught him the jutsu. She knew that the reason that it was forbidden was that the user could die of chakra exhaustion if they created too many clones at once, but she also knew that this would never be an issue for Naruto as his chakra reservoir were huge and only growing larger.

"Well you pass Naruto!" Iruka said with pride on his face as he handed Naruto his head band.

A huge smile encompassed Naruto's face as he took the head band and placed it on his forehead.

"Thanks Nii-san." He said as he went back to his friends.

'Your one step closer Naruto.' Iruka thought.

'I'm one step closer.' Naruto thought as he sat down with his friends and thanked them when they congratulated him.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As the day ended and the children were beginning to leave Naruto, Shino, and Hinata were standing together outside of the classroom.

"Let's go and celebrate! Ramen for everyone!" Naruto yelled.

"I'm sorry Naruto but I can't accompany you. I must go home and begin training with my insects with my father." Shino said as he began to walk off.

"Gomen Naruto-kun, but Kurenai-nee-san wants me home as well for cooking lessons." She said with a blush, not wanting him to know why she was taking cooking lessons.

"Oh, okay then I will see you guess later." Naruto said a bit downtrodden.

As Naruto began to walk to the ramen stand he noticed that many of the villagers were looking at him differently. They seemed to be reevaluating their opinions of him, though a vast majority of them still looked at him with scorn.

As Naruto entered the ramen stand, he was greeted by Ayame and Teuchi. They were two of the first people to treat him kindly and he was their best customer.

"How did you do Naruto." Ayame said with an eager expression.

"I passed with flying colors!" Naruto said with a smile.

"That's great Naruto so what will you have?" Teuchi asked.

"Whatever he orders is on me." Said a voice, causing the group to look at the new figure.

"What do you want, Mizuki!" Naruto said angrily.

Mizuki held his hands up in defense.

"Easy, Naruto I'm not here to fight. I am sorry for what I did to you and wanted to make it up to you." He said sincerely.

Naruto looked at him but could find nothing in his demeanor or his attitude to refute his claim.

"Fine I guess." Naruto said a bit suspiciously as he ordered his ramen.

"Naruto, you like Hinata and Shino right?" Mizuki asked.

Naruto stopped eating and looked at him.

"Yeah they're my best friends why?" He asked.

"It just seems to me that you would want to be on their team, though that isn't likely to happen." Mizuki said.

"What! Why?!" Naruto asked. He didn't want to be separated from his friends.

"Their techniques make them better for a tracking team wouldn't you agree." Mizuki said.

Naruto thought about it. With Shino's bugs and Hinata's byakugan they did seem more based around a tracking team.

"So you see they will probably be put on the same team as someone else who has tracking and recovery abilities." Mizuki said. "And you aren't known for that."

"What do I have to do?" Naruto asked.

"You need to prove that you are a good tracker or good at stealth and recovery." Mizuki said.

"How do I do that?' Naruto asked desperately.

Mizuki smiled. 'Hook line and sinker.'

"Tell me Naruto, what do you know about the Forbidden Scroll?" Mizuki said with the same smile.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Here's chapter four and I hope that you liked it. Yes Hinata has the caged bird seal, yes she has been banished, yes Naruto will try to steal the forbidden scroll, as for what else I have in store THAT IS A SECRET! Please review. When I don't get a lot of feedback I start to think that my story isn't any good. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Truth**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto was currently sneaking into the Hokage's office to try and find the forbidden scroll. According to Mizuki, if he were able to retrieve the scroll and avoid detection or capture, than he would have proven that he was a competent tracker and retriever.

Mizuki had told him where to find the scroll and told him where to meet up if he completed the mission. It took all of Naruto's infiltration skills to not get caught. All the while there was a nagging thought in the back of his head that told him that something was off.

'I can't worry about that.' He thought suppressing the feeling. In his mind, the only thing that mattered was completing this mission and being on a team with Shino and Hinata. They were his oldest friends and never once did anything wrong to him. All three of them had worked and trained together for the last six months and their teamwork was nearly perfect. All Naruto had to do was complete this mission and he would be able to keep their group together.

Naruto found the scroll exactly where Mizuki said it would be. While this would have seemed strange to Naruto on any other day, his mind was far too focused on completing what he thought to be an important mission for him to consider the situation. As he began to walk away, he heard footsteps coming toward the room. Thinking fast, Naruto placed the scroll on his back and quickly hid.

The door opened and the Hokage walked in. Sarutobi had been in many battles in his life and this had given him a sixth sense of when someone was near. He concentrated but couldn't pin down who was around.

"Whoever is in here better come out now!" the old leader said.

He received an answer in the form of dozens of clones running out of the door and window.

"Sorry about this old man!" One Naruto yelled.

Sarutobi was confused. Why was Naruto sneaking around? Why had he run off like that? Shaking it off as inconsequential the old leader sat down to read his Icha Icha book when he noticed that the room containing the forbidden scroll was slightly open. He rushed in to see the scroll missing.

'Naruto what have you done?' the leader thought and he signaled Anbu to gather all available chunin and jonin.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto was currently resting against a tree. He had gotten to the spot indicated by Mizuki with plenty of time to spare. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and he opened the scroll to see what made it so special.

"Naruto!" yelled a voice, causing the young genin to look up.

"Iruka-niisan, Anko-neesan you two were sent to capture me?" he asked.

"No you idiot!" Anko yelled "All available chunin and jonin are hunting your butt down and we happened to find you."

"Naruto what are you doing with the forbidden scroll." Iruka said testily.

Naruto wondered if he should tell them. He didn't want to try and run because he already knew that that was a foregone conclusion. He decided that he had to have preformed adequately, given so little time to prepare, so he told them what Mizuki had told him.

Anko and Iruka looked at each other, both having a bad feeling about the situation. That Mizuki knew where the forbidden scroll resided was troubling enough, but why would he go through the trouble of using Naruto? Before either of the two could voice these concerns, all three suddenly had to avoid dozens of kunai and shuriken thrown at them.

"Well I must say that I am impressed Naruto. You were able to recover the scroll in record time. Now give it to me." Mizuki said as he came out from behind a tree.

"Mizuki, what is the meaning of this!" Iruka said.

"Iruka, you should have been able to guess by now. I had that brat steal the scroll for me. Now I'm going to take it, kill you, and give it to my master." Mizuki said with a smile on his face.

Anko suddenly began to laugh. "You think that you can kill us? You really are an idiot! This works for me just fine though. Now that you're a traitor I can do whatever I want to you." She said with a sadistic smile.

Mizuki for his part seemed unafraid of Anko. He simply made a hand sign and Anko suddenly fell to the ground, screaming in pain as she clutched her neck.

"Anko-chan!"

"Nee-san"

"Did you really think that I would come unprepared Anko? My master is lord Orochimaru and when I told him that you may become a problem, he taught me how to activate your curse seal." Mizuki said smiling at Anko's pain.

Naruto had seen enough. He was confused about what was going on earlier but now everything had become clear. Mizuki had used him to do his dirty work and steal the scroll. Everything he had said was a lie, and now he was working for the man that had caused his nee-san so much heartache and pain.

Anko had told Naruto about Ororchimaru and their past a few months back. This had surprised Naruto as his nee-san always avoided the topic of her past. She had sat him down and truly opened up to him. She told him how Ororchimaru trained her, how he was like a father to her, how he used her and threw her away like trash, and about the curse seal on her neck. Naruto could see the pain and betrayal in her eyes and became angry. He told her that he would one day remove the seal on her neck, and that if he ever met Orochimaru or anyone who worked for him that he would beat them himself for her. She had laughed at that and told him that he had a long way to go.

Naruto rushed toward Mizuki, intent on beating the crap out of him only for Mizuki to dodge and jump into a tree.

"You know something Naruto, your "nee-san" and "nii-san" know why the villagers hate you." He said with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Anko yelled through the pain of the seal.

"Its forbidden Mizuki!" Iruka yelled.

"You remember the lesson on the kyuubi right Naruto?" Mizuki said ignoring the two ninja.

"Yeah it was killed by the fourth. What of it?" Naruto asked suspiciously. He wasn't about to let his guard down, just in case Mizuki was lying again.

"That's what all of you were told but the truth is that the fourth sealed the beast inside a young baby. That baby was you! You are the nine-tailed fox!" Mizuki said with a sick smile on his face.

This stopped Naruto cold. He turned to the two people that were like siblings to him and saw fear come into their eyes. While he was prepared to disregard what Miuki said as a lie, he saw in their faces that he was speaking the truth.

Mizuki took advantage of Naruto's stunned position and threw a large shuriken at him. Naruto made no move to dodge as he was occupied with his own thoughts.

'The kyuubi is sealed inside of me? That's why they all hate me. They see me as the demon that caused so much death and destruction years ago. Am I a demon?' Naruto thought. All this time, Naruto thought that the villagers may not have had a good reason for hating him. He disregarded their hate as foolish when they had nothing to hate him for. However, all of that had been shattered when Mizuki had revealed the secret. He suddenly understood why his was hated and it hurt him to know that he held within him the beast that had caused so much destruction and pain. He was so enraptured in his own thoughts that he completely ignored the shuriken as it neared him.

He was suddenly pushed out of the way and looked up to see Iruka had taken the shuriken for him in the back.

"Don't listen to him Naruto. You aren't the demon." Iruka said. "You are my little brother who just happens to have the demon sealed inside of him."

"When I first met you I hated you. I thought the same as the villagers, but then I got to know you and I knew that there was no way that someone like you, someone so much like me could ever be a demon." Iruka said with tears in his eyes.

"This is truly pathetic." Mizuki said.

Iruka pulled the shuriken out of his back and tossed it at Mizuki. Mizuki simply turned to the side, but this is exactly what Iruka wanted as he tackled Mizuki into the forest.

"Run Naruto! Run and take the scroll with you." Iruka yelled.

Mizuki kicked Iruka off of him and laughed as the chunin failed to pull himself to his feet.

"Did I forget to mention that all of my weapons are covered in poison? You really shouldn't have taken that blow for that demon." Mizuki said with a laugh.

"He's not a demon! You and all those how think the same as you are the true demons Mizuki." Iruka said as he fell to his knees. The poison was fast acting and he was losing the feeling in his legs and arms.

"Iruka-kun!" Anko yelled through her own pain. She hated that she was so useless right now. The seal sapped all of her strength and the pain was nearly unbearable.

Mizuki walked toward Iruka and kicked him toward Anko.

"You can both die together since you seem to care about one another." Miuki said as he threw kunai at both of them.

The weapons were intercepted in the air by shuriken and Mizuki turned only to be met with a fist to the face.

Naruto stood in front of Anko and Iruka with a fierce expression on his face.

"You should know Mizuki that I will never abandon those precious to me. I will defend my nee-san and my nii-san from you." He said.

"Hah! And what pray tell are you going to do? I'm at chunin level." He said.

"**Shadow clone jutsu**!" Naruto yelled as the forest was flooded with clones.

Mizuki only had enough time to gulp before the clones were upon him. After a few minutes of pounding, the Naruto clones looked at the broken body of Mizuki. As they smiled in victory, however, Mizuki's body disappeared and was replaced by a log covered in explosive tags.

"Crap!" yelled the clones as the tags went off and destroyed them all.

The backlash of the explosion hit Naruto hard and he fell to his knees.

'He used a replacement jutsu.' He thought as he looked around for the traitor. He suddenly was kicked in the back and sent flying into a tree. When he turned around he was stunned to see that Mizuki had transformed. He now stood eight feet tall and looked like a mix between a tiger and a man. His muscles were huge and he looked like he was out for blood.

"You didn't really think that it was going to be that easy did you? Lord Orochimaru has made me very powerful and there is no way that a puny little genin like you can defeat me." He said as he rushed toward Naruto on the offensive.

Naruto didn't have time to respond as he was too busy dodging the quick but powerful punches of Mizuki. He had no time to counter attack and was being driven back.

Anko and Iruka could only watch on as their little brother was forced to fight the monstrosity that was Mizuki.

Naruto's back hit a tree and he dodged to the side as Mizuki punched, and destroyed the tree. Naruto knew that he couldn't stay on the defensive and began to attack with the True dragon style. While he was able to get in a good number of hit, none of them were powerful enough to take Mizuki down. He jumped back and tried to regain his breath. Making all of those clones a moment ago, combined with the mental stress of them all being dispelled at once was taking a toll on him.

Mizuki just laughed. "Is that the best you've got? At this rate you'll never defeat me, oh and just to let you know, Iruka only has a few minutes left at best before he's dead and Anko can only handle so much pain herself. How will you save them both and deal with me?" Mizuki said with an evil laugh.

Naruto looked at his siblings and saw that they were both fading fast. The poison was killing Iruka fast and Anko was sweating and panting from the pain.

'I have to get them out of here.' Naruto thought 'Well time to put what I learned to go use.'

"**Piercing Darkness Jutsu**!" He yelled.

Suddenly all light seemed to disappear from the area and Mizuki found himself surrounded by complete darkness.

'What kind of technique is this?!' he thought.

Suddenly he was hit from behind. He swung in that direction but hit nothing. He was suddenly being hit from various angles, and while none of the hits were truly damaging to his new body, they were annoying. He used his new reflexes and grabbed the hand that hit him next. He punched with of his might into Naruto stomach, dispelling the jutsu and launching the young hero into a tree, snapping it in half.

As Naruto laid there trying to catch his breath Mizuki walked over to him.

"Nice try kid. I must say that I am impressed that you learned such a high level jutsu from the scroll, but you lack the experience or the training to use it effectively it seems. None of your blows did a thing and I finally caught you." He said with a smile as he looked at the defeated look on Naruto's face.

He looked over at Iruka and Anko and got an idea. "Before I kill you, I think that I will kill those two siblings of yours." He said with an evil smile.

"No! Leave them alone!" Naruto yelled as he tried to move, and failed.

"You're not in any position to be making demands demon." He said as he walked toward Iruka and Anko. He picked Iruka up by the neck, ignoring Anko's curses and yelling.

"Any last words?" He said with the same smile he had worn all night.

"Boom." Iruka said as he exploded.

The explosion blew Mizuki back and while he was stunned by what happened Anko jumped up.

"**Hidden Shadow Snakes**!" she yelled as snakes slithered out of the sleeves of her trench coat to wrap around Mizuki and pull him toward her.

When Mizuki was face to face with her she said one thing.

"Boom"

She exploded as well and Mizuki was once again thrown backward. He was able to stop himself by digging his claws into the ground, but he was hurt from the two explosions and panting.

'What the heck just happened!' he thought as he heard a voice behind him.

"You shouldn't let your guard down." Naruto said as he grabbed Mizuki from behind.

"Let go you brat." He said as he tried to thrown Naruto off.

"BOOM!" Naruto said as he too exploded.

This explosion was the largest thus far and created a crater in the ground.

Naruto limped from behind a tree to see the results of his plan. He knew that he didn't have the control to completely use the Piercing Darkness jutsu but he had learned it thinking that it could be used for tracking missions. What better way to get away with something you stole then to completely cut off your opponent's sense of sight? He was hurt from the hit Mizuki had landed and he was low on chakra. Using the exploding shadow clones took a lot more chakra then regular clones and the last clone had used up most of his chakra to pull of that huge explosion. Couple that with the fact that he had already used up a good amount on the shadow clones before and the Piercing Shadow jutsu and it was easy to see how Naruto was having a hard time standing.

He looked into the hole and saw Mizuki had returned to normal except his skin seemed shriveled and gray.

He saw that Mizuki was still conscious and had a confused look in his eyes.

"H-how?" he asked.

"Easy. When I used the piercing darkness jutsu my goal wasn't to defeat you with it. I used it to mask my movements. I was able to buy enough time for my clones to get Anko-neesan and Iruka-niisan out of here and I was able to put my exploding shadow clones into position. Sure I had to take a hit so you wouldn't get suspicious but you never get something for nothing." Naruto said.

"Your one mistake was that you never considered that I may have learned more than one thing from the scroll." He said.

Mizuki lost consciousness after that and Naruto soon followed.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto woke up to see that he was in the hospital. He saw that Anko, Iruka, and the Third were present and seemed to be talking about something.

"Hey." Nartuo said.

They looked at him in surprise. Anko rushed over and pulled him into a hug.

"Don't ever scare us like that again ototuo." She said.

"Sorry about that Nee-san. What am I doing in the hospital?" He asked.

"Naruto, we found you in the forest collapsed beside Mizuki. You had three broken ribs and a concussion, as well as severe chakra exhaustion." Iruka said worriedly. Truth be told, not many people could survive after using so many high class jutsu unless they were at least jonin level, for Naruto to do it was astounding.

"That reminds me." Anko said as she punched Naruto in the head.

"Ow! What was that for Nee-san?" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

"That was for worrying us like that brat. When we saw you out there knocked out my heart nearly stopped." She said quietly, as tears started to flow down her face. She hated crying as she thought it made her appear weak.

Iruka placed a hand on her shoulder, which she gladly accepted. Any other man would have been met with a fist to his face, if he was lucky, but Iruka seemed to know just how to calm her down. Naruto sat up and also wrapped his arms around Anko.

"Sorry nee-san, nii-san. I had to think fast or I was going to lose both of you. I would rather die than allow those precious to me to be killed." Naruto said trying to comfort his sister.

Sarutobi watched their exchange with a small smile. Naruto's influence on others was amazing. He himself had never known Anko to care so much for others, yet she was now a big sister to Naruto and possibly something more to Iruka. Iruka himself had had a hard life. With no parents and few friends he was very similar to Naruto. Yet here he stood comforting a woman he cared about and worrying about a boy that he thought of as a brother.

He hated to interrupt but he needed some information. "Naruto, I need you to tell me everything Mizuki told you." He said

Naruto told them everything he knew, from when Mizuki first met him at the ramen stand, to the forest when he told Naruto's secret. Naruto paused at this point.

"Is it true?" Naruto asked quietly.

None of the adults needed for him to elaborate. They knew what he was referring to and they looked at each other to see who would tackle the question. Sarutobi sighed as he knew that it fell to him.

"Yes it's true Naruto. You have the kyuubi sealed within you." He said sadly.

Naruto looked at them with a sad expression.

"Why didn't anyone ever tell me? And why was I chosen?" He asked.

"I made it a law Naruto. I had hoped that if parents were unable to tell their children then you would have a chance to make friends. Sadly that planned failed. As for why you were chosen, well the fourth needed a new born and he knew that you would be perfect for the job" The Hokage said looking very sad and tired. He knew the true reason as to why Naruto was chosen but he didn't think Naruto was ready for that to be revealed yet

"I meant what I said Naruto." Iruka said, taking over. "I hated you at first because you personified the loss of my parents, but later as I watched you I saw that we were very similar. Eventually you grew on me as a little brother and I wouldn't have you any other way." He said with a smile.

"I knew all along as well otouto." Anko said. "When I got to know you I saw the same pain that I went through in your eyes. You felt alone and abandoned but your spirit wasn't broken. Initially I tried not to get too attached, but somewhere along the line I began to see you as my little brother and just like Iruka, I wouldn't have you any other way."

Naruto felt a warm feeling spread over him as tears began to fall from his eyes. These people cared for him. They knew what he carried and yet still cared for him. They were able to see beyond the kyuubi and see the young ninja that he strived to be. This fact kept him from wondering if he was cared for and further cemented his nindo. The villagers didn't see him, they saw the kyuubi and refused to look any further, and yet these people did see beyond the fox and befriended him. He would give his life to protect these people.

"Well Naruto we're going to let you rest for a bit. Thanks to the kyuubi you have a very fast healing ability and should be fine to leave later on in the day." Sarutobi said.

"However, I must forbid you from using the piercing darkness technique." He said seriously.

"What? Why?" Naruto asked. That technique had helped him save Anko and Iruka and it was a very useful technique.

"Because that technique is forbidden for a reason. While it may be very powerful there are a few draw backs to it. You have the chakra to use it but not the control. As I am sure that you noticed, it continues to drain your chakra even after activation and without a good deal of chakra control it can become a handicap. Shadow clones and even exploding shadow clones are easy for you as they don't depend on such a high degree of control. Until you have a better control of your chakra I must forbid you from using that technique unless you are in a dire situation." Sarutobi said.

"Fine." Naruto said with a sigh. He could dispute the wise leader's argument. He would have to work on his control before he could use that technique effectively.

"Good now get some rest." He said as he left.

"When you get out I'll treat you to some ramen." Iruka said as he patted Naruto on the back and left.

"See you later otouto. Now that you're a genin I'll start to teach you some of my more powerful techniques." Anko said as she ruffled his hair and left.

Once they were gone Naruto was left with his thoughts.

'They accept me, but what about Hinata-chan and Shino? Will they accept me as well?' he thought.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when someone knocked on his door.

"Come in." he said.

The door opened and Hinata and Shino were standing there, much to Naruto's surprise. Hinata rushed to his side while Shino calmly walked to the foot of his bed.

"Naruto-kun are you okay?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"I'm fine Hinata-chan." He said with a smile. "What are you two doing here?"

"Hinata heard that you were in the hospital so she came to my house and we came to see you." Shino said.

"Nee-san told me that you were hurt. What happened Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

Naruto told them about what had transpired. Hinata and Shino were surprised at the deception of Mizuki, as well as the fact that Naruto had learned not one but _two_ techniques from the forbidden scroll.

Naruto looked at them. They were his oldest and closest friends. Iruka, Anko, Ayame, Teuchi, and the third were all like family to him. HInata and Shino were his only true friends and right now he had to decide whether or not to tell them the whole truth.

'I don't know if I could take them hating or fearing me.' He thought. At the same time he knew that unless there was complete trust between them, then they would never be able to function well as a team.

"Hinata, Shino I also found out why the villagers hate me." He said quietly. He knew that this was a huge leap of faith. Either they would accept him, or he would lose his only friends. Either way he wanted to tell someone who didn't have prior knowledge of the kyuubi.

"Why do they hate you?" Hinata asked curiously. Shino also looked interested.

Naruto looked out of his window for a moment. He closed his eyes as he began to speak.

"Twelve years ago, the kyuubi attacked. He caused wide spread destruction and death. Numerous ninja were killed. It seemed hopeless until the fourth Hokage arrived. He took on the kyuubi all on his own and killed it at the cost of his own life." Naruto said.

Hinata and Shino were confused about what this had to do with the villager's hatred.

Knowing that they must have been confused, Naruto took a deep breath and prepared to continue. 'This is it. Time to see what they really think of me.' He thought.

"That isn't the truth though. The kyuubi couldn't be killed. The fourth sealed the kyuubi inside a new born child to protect the village." Naruto said. "That child was me."

Naruto waited with his eyes closed. He expected to feel Hinata's weight move from his side and hear them run out of the room. He expected Hinata to scream and Shino to yell at him or simply saw that they weren't friends anymore. However he was met with silence.

He opened his eyes and was met with the soft lavender eyes of Hinata. They didn't hold anger, hate or fear. They held sadness, comfort, admiration and something else he couldn't identify.

"Why did you have your eyes closed Naruto-kun?" she asked as she raised a hand to his cheek and rubbed the whisker marks on his face.

"Did you expect me to run and hate you? I would never do that Naruto-kun. I always knew that you were special and a great person, but now I know for sure that you are truly amazing Naruto-kun. You have been protecting us for years without even knowing it. Even now, when you know the truth, I can see that you hold no malice or hate for the villagers for the way they treated you" Hinata said with admiration in her voice as well as a hint of sadness for the pain he must have gone through.

"No matter what, you are not a demon you are Naruto Uzumaki. You are my friend and my hero and will become the Hokage one day." She said with a smile that caused a strange feeling inside Naruto's chest.

"I concur with Hinata, Naruto. You are our friend and you were the first person to ever treat me like a normal person. I actually feel closer to you now as we are both looked down upon and distrusted for what we hold within us." Shino said with a smile referring to his bugs.

Naruto was moved to tears.

'They accept me, kyuubi and all.' He thought as tears began to fall from his eyes.

HInata wrapped him in a hug and comforted him while Shino walked over and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

All three of them knew what it felt like to be looked down upon. They were treated badly because of other's ideas about them. Hinata's former clan believed her to be weak and useless. Many people considered the Aburame clan to be a group of freaks because of their bugs. Naruto was hated because of the kyuubi. Yet, they had found each other and had formed bonds of friendship that had overcome even the greatest of secrets.

Naruto had finally stopped crying and looked at his friends.

"Thanks so much you guys, you have no idea what it feels like to get this off of my chest. Anko-nee-san and Iruka-nii-san already knew and accepted me, but you two had no idea and yet you still accept me." He said with a large smile on his face.

"The villagers think that I am the kyuubi in human form and some of the ninja are afraid that the kyuubi will eventually overcome the seal and take me over, but I will never let that happen!" Naruto said with a fire in his eyes.

"I will protect every precious person to me. I will keep the kyuubi in check and become Hokage, regardless of what anyone else thinks." Naruto said as he held his hand out in front of him.

"And we will be right there beside you Naruto-kun, every step of the way. So you don't have to carry this burden by yourself." Hinata said with a smile as she placed her hand on top of his.

"We will reach our dreams together and always watch out for each other." Shino said as he too placed his hand on top of their's.

Darkness began to fall but Naruto felt nothing but joy in his heart.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto looked over at the village from the Hokage's Mountain. He had been released from the hospital a week ago and had gone to eat ramen with Iruka. Strangely enough, Anko had also accompanied them. Naruto told them about Hinata and Shino's visit and they were very happy that their little brother was accepted by his peers. They also knew of Hinata's crush on Naruto and planned to use that against him in the future. Naruto had left feeling on top of the world. His friends and family accepted him for who he was.

Now he was overlooking the village in deep thought.

Tomorrow would be the day that they were assigned teams. He felt assured that he would be on the same team as Hinata and Shino and couldn't wait to start working as an official team.

He also felt a little afraid. He wasn't a kid anymore. Once he had placed the leaf head band on his forehead he was considered an adult. He would be given missions and expected to complete them. He would be asked to kill and would have to kill at some point. While the thought of killing someone was hard for him to stomach, Anko and Iruka assured him that it was necessary. They told to think about it this way "Would you rather it be them or your teammates?" That was enough for Naruto, he would never let those close to him die if he had any say about it. If that meant taking out an opponent then so be it.

Naruto took a deep breath and released it slowly to relieve his tension. He smiled as he thought of what tomorrow would bring.

"Hello Naruto."

Naruto didn't even turn around. He knew who was behind him.

"You always come when something major has happened to me. Are you watching me all the time?" Naruto asked as the mysterious man wrapped in a black robe stood beside him.

"So you were finally told the truth. What are you going to do now?" He asked, completely ignoring Naruto's question. It seemed that whoever this man was, he only answered questions that he wanted to answer.

"Nothing has changed now except for the fact that I know what I am hated for. I will still become Hokage and I will protect all those who are precious to my, for that is my nindo." Naruto said.

The man was silent for a long time, as if he was considering something.

"Well then Naruto I have one more gift for you." He said as he reached into his robe.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**And that's it for chapter five. I hope you like the fight. I haven't had a lot of experience writing them and hope to improve in the future. What is the man's gift to Naruto? What does the future hold for Naruto, Hinata, and Shino? THAT IS A SECRET! Till next time. Kyuubi123 out. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Teams assigned **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto would I be writing a fanfic?**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The man pulled out a sword. Yet this sword was different from anything Naruto had ever seen. The sheath was pure white with intricate gold designs on it. The man handed the sword to Naruto.

Naruto examined the sheath for a moment before drawing the blade. Naruto was speechless as he saw the sword. The blade looked to be about four feet in length and had a slight silver look to it. The handle was wrapped in white and gold wrappings and was very comfortable. The hand guard was what caught Naruto's attention. It was solid gold and had two dragon heads on opposite sides with their mouths open and pointed outward. It seemed as if they were protecting the blade itself.

Naruto was speechless that this man would give him such a gift. There was something about this sword that just felt right being in his hand.

"This is the golden dragon sword Naruto." The man said softly. "I hope that you put it to good use." He said as he began to walk away.

"Wait!" yelled Naruto, having come out of the daze of receiving such a sword.

"Why did you give this to me?" Naruto asked.

The man refrained from turning around but still answered the young ninja.

"What do you know about dragons, Naruto?" he asked.

"Not much." Naruto replied, slightly confused about the question.

"Dragons are said to be some of the most powerful and majestic creatures to ever inhabit the earth. Dragons are a symbol of peace, strength, virtue, wisdom, and power. They are also known to be great protectors and always fight for what is right." The man said.

"This is way I have given you this sword Naruto. You embody all of those attributes and I have a feeling that you will need this sword in the future." He said as he began to walk away.

"But I don't know how to use a sword." Naruto said.

"Then I suggest that you learn. In this life you can't expect to be given everything you want. You will have to work hard to attain what you desire. You should know this better than anyone." The man said.

"Oh and one last thing, a great swordsman listens to his sword." He said as he disappeared into the night.

Naruto watched him go then returned his attention to the sword he was holding.

'A great swordsman listens to his sword? What does that mean?' He thought as he sheathed the sword.

He didn't know what the man meant when he said that he would need the sword in the future, but he was interested in what he had to say about dragons.

'Oh well I guess I will have to ask Nii-san or Nee-san if they know anyone who can use a sword.' He thought as he put it through his belt and began to walk home.

Tomorrow was the day that he would finally be placed on the same team as Hinata and Shino, and he couldn't wait.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The next day came, and in the academy all of the children were seated and waiting for Iruka to announce the teams.

Naruto had left the sword home as he wasn't skilled with it and didn't want to show it off yet. This, however, didn't keep him from telling Hinata and Shino that he had it. They were both stunned that he received such a gift and questioned the identity of the man. Naruto truthfully told them that he didn't know.

All conversation was cut when Iruka walked into the class. He seemed very serious today, though many put his attitude to the fact that they weren't kids anymore. They were now ninja and seen as adults. Some would die, some would grow up to become competent ninja, and some would grow up to become legends.

"Alright I will begin to read off your team assignments. I just want to say first that I am proud of you all and to do your best." He said as he began to go down the list.

Naruto was still thinking about the sword and the man's cryptic message. How was one supposed to listen to a sword? It seemed impossible, but then Naruto was known for doing the impossible. However he wasn't stupid, he wouldn't use the sword until he had some basic training.

He shook the thoughts away and listened to Iruka.

"Team seven will be: Sasuke Uchiha." He said as every girl, with the exception of Hinata, began to pray that they were on the Uchiha's team.

"Sakura Haruno."

Saukra screamed for joy and began to rub it into Ino's face. Naruto simply shook his head and thanked Kami that he wasn't on this team.

"And Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka finished with an annoyed expression on his face.

"WHAT?!!!!" yelled Naruto, Sakura, and strangely enough Hinata.

Sakura looked horrified to be the same team as Naruto. Naruto looked at his nii-san with a mixture of betrayal and anger. Hinata looked enraged and even Shino had a deep frown on his face.

"Would you care to repeat that, Nii-san because I _know _you must have read it wrong." Naruto said, clearly angry.

"I am sorry Naruto but these teams are authorized by the Hokage." Iruka said. He didn't like this anymore than they did and it showed on his face.

"This is complete and utter crap! I should be on the same team as Hinata-chan and Shino, not Sakura and Sasuke." Naruto said.

"Hey what's wrong with me?!" Saukra yelled.

"Do you want a list?" Naruto asked.

"Shut-up!" she said.

"Enough! I'm sorry Naruto but this is what the Hokage ordered, you'll have to take it up with him. Your sensei is Kakashi Hatake." Iruka said as he began to read off the rest of the teams.

Shino and Hinata were paired with Kiba under Kurenai, and Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino were under Asuma Sarutobi.

While Shino and Hinata were slightly happy to be on the same team, they were deeply troubled about Naruto.

Naruto had his head down and refused to look at anyone. He couldn't believe that after all they had been through; they were going to be split apart. It felt like a large weight was slowly pressing down on his chest.

Hinata and Shino were his best friends since the beginning to the year. All three worked extremely well together and had a closer bond then some teams in circulation. Hinata and Shino even knew Naruto's biggest secret and comforted and accepted him.

All of this was going through Naruto's head as the teams were picked up by their sensei.

Naruto didn't move from his position, hoping that this was all a sick dream and he would soon wake up. However, Kurenai soon came to collect her team and Hinata and Shino began to walk toward her.

Hinata grabbed Naruto's hand and he looked up at them with tears in his eyes.

"Well at least you guys are on a team together, be sure to look out for each other okay." Naruto said in a horribly sad tone as tears fell from his eyes.

Hinata was also crying. She couldn't believe this was happening. They had been friends for a year now and yet they had gone through and overcome problems that people twice their age hadn't experienced yet. It was Naruto who had saved her from her despair and helped her to become a better ninja. It was Naruto who always believed in her and comforted her when she was down. Naruto was the heart of their group and even if she and Shino were on the same team, it would never be the same.

Shino was normally a very quiet and conserved individual. He didn't over react, when he reacted at all, to situations. Yet when he had heard the teams being made, he felt extremely angry. If someone were close to him they would have heard a buzzing sound coming from within him. Naruto was the first person to be kind to him. He offered Shino friendship and belonging. No matter how apathetic the Aburame clan seemed, they still had feelings. Naruto had saved him from isolation and showed him what it meant to be around those that truly knew and accepted him. He was severely upset that Naruto wouldn't be on their team. He felt the same as Hinata, as he thought of Naruto as their team's heart. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder to try and comfort him.

"I am very sorry about this Naruto. Know that there is no one else I would rather have on my team than you. Even if we are on separate teams, we will always be friends, don't forget that." He said earnestly, as Hinata nodded her head in agreement.

"I won't." Naruto said with a small smile.

Naruto stuck his hand out and Hinata and Shino placed their's on top of his. After a moment they walked away and joined Kiba in front of Kurenai. Kurenai looked at Naruto with sadness. Truth be told, she was ecstatic about the idea of being their sensei but the third had vetoed her request to have Naruto on her team.

After all the teams had gone, Iruka walked up to Naruto and placed a hand on this shoulder.

"It will be okay Naruto." Iruka said in a brotherly tone.

"No, it won't." Naruto said as tears began to well up in his eyes again.

Iruka looked at his younger brother and sighed. He could tell that Naruto was hurting and felt horrible when he had read the teams, but he couldn't do anything about it. He decided to give Naruto some time alone and walked away. He decided to go see what Anko was up to and give her the news, though he could tell that she wouldn't be happy in the least.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The members of team seven were currently finding ways to pass the time as they waited for their sensei. Sasuke was brooding, Sakura was talking non-stop to Sasuke about dating, and Naruto was silent.

The sadness about being on this team had faded. The anger, however, had increased. Naruto couldn't believe what had happened. The old man must have been going senile to think that this team would work. To Naruto, Sasuke was nothing but an arrogant ninja who thought he was better then everyone, and Sakura was nothing but a fangirl. Everything that came out of her mouth was about Sasuke and it seriously ticked Naruto off. It didn't help that their sensei was already 2 hours late.

Naruto was currently working on the argument he was going to present to the Hokage to have him change his team when Sakura opened her mouth.

"Sasuke I wonder how our team will do? I hope Naruto doesn't slow us down." She said to the Uchiha, who was still ignoring her.

Naruto ignored her and started to rap his fingers on the desk in boredom.

'Where is this guy?! Not only is he incredibly late, but if he doesn't get here soon, I may let out my frustration on Sakura.' Naruto thought.

"Hey Naruto stop that you're upsetting Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screeched.

"Oh please excuse me; I forgot that Sasuke was kami himself." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Shut up Naruto! You shouldn't even be on this team!" she yelled.

"You're right! And if I had it my way then I wouldn't be here!" Naruto yelled angrily. He was in no mood to deal with Sakura's crap.

Suddenly the door opened and a man entered. He had silver hair that stood up at an odd angle, a face mask that covered everything under his nose, and wore his head band over his left eye.

"Are you guys team seven?" he asked lazily.

"Yeah, and who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Meet me on the roof in 5 minutes." The man said and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The members of team seven looked at each other and headed toward the roof.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

When everyone had been situated on the roof the jonin began to speak.

"I am your sensei, Kakashi Hatake. Now why don't we go over introductions?" He said.

"Why don't you go first sensei?" Sakura said.

"Fine, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have many hobbies; I don't feel like telling you about my plans for the future, and my likes and dislikes are none of your concern." He said with a smile.

'The only thing we learned was his name.' the three genin thought.

"Okay you first." He said pointing at Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzuamki. I like ramen, Hinata-chan, Shino, my nee-san and nii-san and I used to like the third. I dislike those who think they're better than everyone else, those who judge others without getting to know them and I currently dislike this team. My goal is to become the Hokage." Naruto said.

"Oh and why is that?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't feel the need to tell you." Naruto said.

"Fair enough." Kakashi said, slightly worried about Naruto's attitude. "You next pinky."

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like…" she said looking at Sasuke with a blush. "My hobbies include…", she once again looks at Sasuke. "My plans for the future are…", she once again looked at Sasuke.

"And what do you hate?" Kakashi said with a sigh, he hated how most girls were too focused on boys at this age.

"Naruto!!" she yelled, sending Naruto an angry look.

"Somehow I think I'll survive." Naruto said returning her look. He had just about had it with Sakura.

Kakashi tried to break the tension.

"Okay, calm down. You next Uchiha." He said.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have no likes and many dislikes, one of which being those who don't know their place." He said looking at Naruto, and receiving a glare in return. "My dream is more of an ambition, I will kill a certain man." He said darkly.

'He's so cool.' Sakura thought.

'Whatever' Naruto thought, not caring about the Uchiha's ambiton.

'He is still too focused on hatred and revenge.' Kakashi thought.

"Okay, meet me at the training field at eight o'clock tomorrow for a survival test, and don't eat breakfast or you'll puke." He said with a smile as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"I've got to learn that." Naruto said, absently.

"Like you could." Sasuke said.

"Yeah Naruto you could never do something that cool!" Sakura said, trying to get on Sasuke's good side by attacking Naruto.

Naruto had to physically restrain himself. Today was not the day to screw with him and yet they kept trying to put him down. This is why he hated this team already. They treated him like crap without ever even trying to get to know him. He knew that if he stayed any longer, then he would likely explode on one or both of them.

Naruto simply turned and began to walk away.

"Whatever, I'm going to see the old man and get changed to Hinata-chan's team." Naruto said.

"Good, losers should stay together; this way you won't hold me back." Sasuke said.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. He was desperately trying to control his anger but the Uchiha had crossed the line. Naruto didn't care what others said about him, but when his friends were insulted, he wouldn't hesitate to defend them.

"Yeah go with the creepy bug boy Shino, and that shy weird girl Hinata. You losers should stick together." Sakura said, not knowing that this was the straw that would break the camel's back.

"Shut Up!!" Naruto yelled. This stunned the two genin as Naruto had not yelled in anger since the beginning of the year.

"You two have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. You don't know a thing about Shino, Hinata, or me. And you know something, you don't even try to. You simply sit back and criticize us without knowing a thing you're talking about. Tell me have you ever been thrown out of your house by your own family into the street like trash? Have you ever been looked at like you were a freak just because of your family's jutsu? Have you ever had people treat you like dirt and tell you that you should die?!!" Naruto yelled at them enraged.

He had had enough of their crap. He normally would have let it go, but this day had been long and tiring and he was venting his emotions.

"I would give anything to be with Hinata and Shino right now. They understand me. They accept me. They never criticize me, but instead encourage me and help me. You have never done those things. I have avoided you two for that very reason and now I may be stuck with you! I am going right now to change this so kindly shut up and leave me alone!!" Naruto said, giving the two a glare as cold as ice.

He left them there shocked into silence. Sasuke eventually stood up and left. While Sakura stayed for a moment longer thinking on Naruto's words.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto stormed out of the Hokage's office in a rage. The old man had refused to change the teams, and even had the gall to ask that Naruto try and work together peacefully with Sasuke and Sakura. The old man had lost a lot of Naruto's respect, and he knew it.

Sarutobi watched him go with a sigh. This decision was causing more problems then he initially thought. Earlier in the day, Anko had literally kicked his door in and asked what he was thinking. Iruka was there with her and while he normally could calm her down, he too was wondering what the old leader was thinking. He had told them that his decision was final and that it was for the best.

Anko had stormed out in a rage similar to what Naruto had just done and even Iruka was visibly shaking with frustration.

His decision had caused problems as soon as he made it, as a matter of fact. This whole mess had started last night when the teams were created.

**(Flashback)**

Sarutobi was looking at the jonin who had qualified to become jonin instructors. Iruka was also there as he was the head instructor for the graduating class. Everything was going smoothly until the last three jonin came up. They were Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kakashi Hatake. While the other instructors had simply taken three genin, these three jonin had requested their genin. Asuma wanted Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji, as their fathers were a great team and he wanted to teach the second generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho team.

The problem came with Kakashi and Kurenai.

"I would like Hinata Yuhi, Shino Aburame, and Naruto Uzumaki." Kurenai said.

She had been training with them for a few months with Anko and all of them had impressed her. Hinata was officially her little sister and after meeting Naruto she could see why Hinata had a crush on him. Shino was also interesting to her. Her interactions with the Aburame were very few and thus she didn't know what to expect from him. He had proved all of the stereotypes wrong in that he wasn't unemotional. He may have come off that way at first, but when you had gained his trust he was very open with his thoughts and feelings.

They had great teamwork as they took each other's opinions into account before doing anything. There wasn't a central leader as they followed whoever had the best decision. Thus they didn't run across the problem of members fighting over the leadership position as other, older teams had. She could see that they would become a great team, and wanted to teach them.

Kakashi, however, had other ideas.

"I object Hokage-sama. I think that I should be given Naruto." He said.

"And why is that? You already have Sasuke Uchiha and he is the rookie of the year. You also have Sakura Haruno who had the highest grades in the class. Having Naruto on your team would make it completely overbalanced." Kurenai argued.

"That may be, but your team will predominantly be used for tracking and retreving. Thus it makes more sense for you to teach Kiba Inuzuka." Kakashi said in return.

"That maybe, but Naruto has been training with Shino and Hinata for a long time under the instruction of Anko and myself. They already work together extremely well and have no problems with each other." Kurenai fired back. She wasn't about to lose this argument and have Naruto separated from Hinata and Shino. It would crush all three of them.

"Be that as it may, Naruto has improved vastly since entering the academy from what I have been told. If this is true then he needs an instructor that can bring out the best in him and sadly that wouldn't be you Kurenai." Kakashi said calmly, ignoring the glare being given to him by Kurenai.

"Oh? And why is that Kakashi?" she asked with an edge in her voice.

"Because your specialty is genjutsu and Naruto will never be able to pull off any genjutsu. His chakra reservoirs are simply too large. He also wouldn't be able to learn anything from Hinata or Shino as they rely on clan based attacks that need a bloodline limit." Kakashi said.

"He can learn a lot from me, however. His large chakra reservoirs are perfect for powerful ninjutsu and I happen to be a specialist with them. Sasuke also seems to have a bit of a rivalry with Naruto so they would be able to push each other to greater heights." He added.

"You are forgetting that Naruto and Sasuke are not friendly toward each other at all. From what I've seen, Sasuke has an ego problem which would clash with Naruto's personality. They would probably end up fighting each other over who would lead and that could be disastrous." Kurenai replied back.

Sarutobi watched the two jonin in front of him go back and forth over who would keep Naruto. Both had sound arguments and it didn't seem like either of them were going to give up. Kurenai had grown to like Naruto as he was able to help Hinata in her time of need and because he was a good student. Kakashi wanted to train Naruto because he felt that it was his job to train his sensei's son. Yes Kakashi was one of the few to know that Naruto was the son of the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who was ironically Kakashi's sensei.

Sarutobi sighed. He knew that it was going to come down to his decision over who would keep Naruto. While he worked extremely well with Hinata and Shino, Kakashi had a point in that he couldn't learn any of their techniques. Also Kurenai's team was supposed to be a tracking team and Kiba's tracking skills were first rate, as he came from the Inuzuka clan.

Another thing that was on his mind was about Naruto's ability to change others. Just by looking at Hinata and Shino, it could be seen that both had improved because of Naruto's presence. While Sasuke was talented and Sakura smart, they both could use improvement and Naruto seemed to be the one who specialized in changing others for the best. It was possible that he could calm Sasuke down about getting his revenge and help Sakura become a true kunochi like he had done with Hinata. At the same time, Naruto didn't get along with either of the two well and there was sure to be friction.

"Enough, I have made my decision." He said, silencing the two bickering jonin.

"Naruto will be paired with Sakura and Sasuke." He said.

"Hokage-sama I beg you to reconsider!" Kurenai yelled in panic, she could just see the broken hearted look on Hinata's face already.

"I am sorry Kurenai but you will have Kiba on your team. My decision is final." He said.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kurenai said sadly, she just knew that this was going to cause a lot of problems.

"Alright, if there is nothing else then you are dismissed." Sarutobi said.

As the jonin left the room Sarutobi was meet with the sad, yet angry eyes of Iruka. Sarutobi knew that he wasn't happy about this and that Naruto wouldn't be either, but he believed that it was for the best. Kakashi would be able to bring out Naruto's potential and Naruto may be able to change Sasuke and Sakura for the better. There was one more thing that had influenced his decision, though.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura reminded him of Orochimaru, Jirayia, and Tsunade in terms of skill and temperament. He had failed at teaching those three as they were no longer a team, but he hoped that this new team would be able to achieve the greatness of the three sannin without sharing the same fate as they did.

Sarutobi sighed tiredly again. He just knew that this was going to cause problems tomorrow.

**(End Flashback)**

'I hope that this works out.' Sarutobi thought. He thought of Naruto as another grandson and the look of betrayal and anger in his eyes when his request to change teams was denied hurt Sarutobi.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto walked down the street angrily. He couldn't believe the old man. All he wanted was to be put on the same team as his best friends. Was that too much to ask?! He couldn't stand Sakura's constant nagging about how great Sasuke was and how stupid he was. He certainly couldn't, and wouldn't put up with Sasuke's attitude. If there was one thing that royally ticked him off, it was Sasuke's superiority complex.

As Naruto walked down the street he noticed that the villagers were giving the same looks of hatred and annoyance. Naruto didn't put a fake smile on his face, nor did he ignore them. He instead glared right back at them. This caused many to flinch back when they saw the look on his face. They had never seen him angry and decided to back off.

Naruto went to the training fields to let off some steam. He trashed a few dummies and worked himself into the ground. As he lay panting on the ground he reflected on the past. He saw himself, Shino and Hinata training, eating, and laughing together. He realized that those days would be gone for a while as they had obligations to their team. Naruto was once again without his friends and he felt the cold feeling of loneliness begining to grab his heart. He started to cry again about the injustices that he had to put up with.

"There you are brat."

Naruto looked up and saw Anko standing there. Normally she had smirk of humor on her face, but now he could only see sadness.

Anko walked over to him and sat down beside him. She wrapped an arm around him to try and comfort him. Normally she shied away from public shows of affection to him as she didn't want to appear weak, but she knew that right now he needed a shoulder to cry on.

Naruto leaned into the hug and continued to cry.

"It isn't fair." He said sadly.

"No, it isn't. But you have to suck it up." Anko replied. Though her words were harsh, her tone was gentle.

"Right now you feel like the world is against you, you feel betrayed, and lonely as the only ones who truly understood you are no longer around right?" she asked, although it was more of a statement.

"Yeah." Naruto said, slightly surprised by his nee-sans perceptive skills.

"Don't worry about it Naruto. They haven't left you and you will always be friends. You may not be on the same team but your bonds will never disappear. Promise me that you won't let this keep you from doing your best because I can tell you now that no little brother of mine is a quitter." She said strongly.

"Yeah right, like I would ever quit because of this." Naruto said a bit stronger.

"Good, now wipe your eyes and get ready for tomorrow. You have a survival test to pass." She said as she got up and pulled him to his feet.

"I'm surprised you aren't upset about this." Naruto said with a small smile.

"You should have seen me earlier! If it wasn't for Iruka I may have attacked the old man myself. I was just as angry as you but I didn't let it control me. You have to overcome this and face facts that this is the way it is and it's not going to change." She said.

"Yeah I know. I will fulfill my goal of being Hokage, I just wish Hinata-chan and Shino were there with me." He said with a wistful look on his face.

"We don't get everything we want in this life Naruto. We can only make the best of what we're given." She said as she ruffled his hair and began to walk away.

"Thanks nee-san." He said.

Anko simply waved a hand in his direction.

'She's right. I may not like what has happened but I will make the best of it. If becoming the Hokage means that I have to be on the same team and Sasuke and Sakura then so be it. I may not like them but I am willing to work with them.' He thought as he began his own trek home.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Here's chapter 6. If you think that I have lost my mind….then you may be right, but there is a method to my madness and I hope you stay tuned for what I have in store for you next. What will happen now? Will Naruto be able to work with Sasuke and Sakura? Why do I continue to torment you? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Training, and Wave**

**Kyuubi123 here to clarify a few things. I know that my last chapter had many scratching their heads in confusion. The reason I did what I did was twofold. One, I hate when stories become predictable, it makes them boring and uninteresting to read so I wanted to throw a twist your way. Two, I'm a bit twisted what can I say.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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Naruto awoke at 7:30 am. He quickly got dressed, ate breakfast, and gathered his gear. As he left his apartment he thought about what lay in store for him.

'I may be willing to work with them, but is the same true for them.' He thought. He was still far from happy with his team arrangements, but there really was nothing he could do about it.

He arrived at the training grounds to see Sasuke and Sakura already waiting. With a sigh he walked over to them.

"Hey." He said as he sat down beside Sakura.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to change teams." Sakura said.

"The old man denied my request, so it seems that I am stuck with you two." Naruto said solemnly.

"I guess two losers on the same team is the max." Sasuke said nastily.

Sasuke suddenly found himself lifted up by his shirt and staring into the face of an angry Naruto. He found himself staring at the same cold stare that Naruto had given them yesterday.

"Listen to me, Uchiha, and listen well. I don't like you, and you don't like me, but we are on the same team and I am willing to put my feelings aside to work together with you. However I will not allow you to insult my friends. If you don't having anything productive to say then kindly keep your mouth shut." Naruto said angrily. He may have been willing to work with them but he was not going to take their crap.

"Hey leave Sasuke alone Naruto!" Sakura yelled. Though she quickly shut up when she was met with the same icy stare as Sasuke.

Naruto dropped Sasuke to the ground and walked away from them.

'This is going to be a long day' he thought.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The three genin were left waiting for 2 hours. Naruto had distanced himself away from them as he didn't want to deal with them.

Sakura had eventually stopped trying to get Sasuke to go on a date with her and was sitting quietly wondering where their sensei was.

Sasuke was brooding, and trying to figure out how Naruto had gotten so strong. He would never admit it but when Naruto had grabbed him, he had felt slightly afraid of the blonde and the look of anger in his eyes.

Finally, Kakashi appeared and looked at his potential team. He saw a lot of his old team in them.

Saukra was similar to Rin in that she fawned over Sasuke the same way that Rin had fawned him.

Sasuke was so similar to him that it was scary. They were both silent and reserved and were considered geniuses. Kakashi hoped that he would be able to break Sasuke out of his current mindset of superiority as he had been, just without the death of a teammate being the catalyst.

Naruto was a surprise to him though. He initially saw a lot of Obito in Naruto, but that had changed as of late. Naruto was nothing like he used to be and Kakashi was at a loss as to what could have caused this transformation. He doubted that it was Kurenai or Anko and he was very interested in his growth rate.

Kakashi shook out of his thoughts when Sakura noticed him and yelled that he was late.

"Sorry about that, but I ran across a black cat and had to retrace my steps." He said.

Sakura called him a liar, Sasuke gave him a dark look, and Naruto seemed to ignore the excuse.

"Anyway, this will be a survival test, you have until noon to get one of these bells from me." He said as he showed them the two silver bells.

"Sensei there are only two bells." Sakura said confused.

"I know. One of you will fail and be sent back to the academy, only two can pass." He said with a smile. He noticed that Sakura and Sasuke had alarmed expressions on their faces while Naruto simply looked thoughtful.

"Anyway, the one who does the poorest will be tied to a log and won't be able to eat lunch." Kakashi finished with a smile.

"So that's why you told us not to eat breakfast." Naruto commented though he himself had ignored that rule.

"That's right, Alright begin." He said.

All three of the genin jumped into the forest to plan thier method of attack.

'Well let's see what they can do.' He thought, while pulling out his Icha Icha book.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto was in a tree thinking about the test. Something seemed off about it. By bringing two bells Kakashi was essentially turning them against each other. If they were going to be a team then why would he start with such an unorthodox method?

And then there was his threat of being sent back to the academy. As far as he knew there never existed a two man squad. If this was the case, then why did he purposefully split them apart?

He shook his head as he saw Sasuke attack their sensei. Needless to say the Uchiha was getting tossed around. While Naruto was interested in the fact that he knew the fireball jutsu, he was less than impressed with the power behind it. He saw Kakashi pull Sasuke into the ground up to his neck and calmly walk away.

Naruto didn't know what to think about this test but he knew that he was no match for a jonin. As far as he knew Kakashi was one of the best and he couldn't even beat his nee-san in a fight. If he as going to have any chance at all then he was going to have to get help.

He sighed as he heard Sakura's scream. He knew that working with them would probably be as hard as pulling out his own teeth, but as his nee-san said, he had to make due with what he had.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kakashi was leaning against a tree with his face in his book. He was not paying any attention to it, however. He was busy contemplating what had happened so far in his test. Sasuke was the first to come at him. He used traps very well to get Kakahsi into position for a fire jutsu, and he admitted that Sasuke had a lot of talent, but that was far from enough. When Kakashi had commented that he couldn't win on his own, Sasuke had retorted that he didn't need anyone's help. Kakashi could only sigh at Sasuke's superiority complex.

Sakura was an even bigger disappointment. All he did was a simple genjutsu and she was knocked out. It was pretty pathetic, and she had a long way to go if she wanted to be a good ninja.

Naruto was nowhere to be found. He had expected Naruto to come out eventually and challenge him, yet the blonde ninja had kept silent so far. He was the only one who seemed to think about what he had said, without taking it at face value like Sakura and Sasuke had.

This was a big part as to why he wanted Naruto on his team. He seemed to think things through and Kakashi hoped that he would be the heart of the team as Obito was to his team, and bring them together.

Suddenly Kakashi was forced to dodge a few shuriken thrown at him.

He looked up to see Naruto in a tree, with an intense look on his face that remained him of his sensei.

"Yo sensei, what's up with this test? You tell us we're a team yet you give us a test that specifically splits us apart." Naruto said.

"Well why don't you figure it out Naruto." Kakashi said lazily.

Naruto simply looked at him for a minute then suddenly attacked.

Kakashi sighed, he had hoped that Naruto would figure it out. He prepared to dodge the genin's attacks only to find that this wasn't as easy as he initially thought. He was using some style that he had never seen before. Kakashi had a difficult time predicting his next attack. However, while Naruto's style was hard to predict it was far from perfect as Kakashi could see slight hesitations in the way he fought. Kakashi took advantage of this to get behind him.

"**Thousand years of death**!" he yelled as he poked Naruto in the butt and sent him flying into the air. Naruto simply vanished in a burst of smoke.

'So that was a shadow clone.' Kakashi thought. He was impressed that a shadow clone was able to fight so well against him. He looked around to see if Naruto was going to use this to his advantage, but when nothing happened he simply reopened his book and waited once again. They would either work together, or they would fail.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto was walking toward Sakura when he got the memories of his clone. He knew that the clone wouldn't stand a chance, he simply wanted to test his style against his sensei and he was slightly impressed. It seemed that not even a jonin of his level could predict his style, but that didn't make it perfect as the result of the fight clearly indicated.

He walked toward Sakura's body and woke her up by releasing a small chakra pulse that Kurenai had taught him when the trained together. She instantly awoke and looked around.

"Where's Sasuke?" she asked.

"He's pushing up daisies." Naruto said simply as he walked away.

"Hey where are you going?" she asked.

"Sakura, has there ever been a two man squad in the history of Konoha?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"Huh, what does that have to do with anything?" she asked him with a confused look on her face.

Naruto simply looked at her with an "are you stupid" look.

"Just answer the question." He said with a sigh.

"No not that I can remember." She said, she normally would have been upset with the way he was treating her, like she was an annoyance but she remembered how angry he could get and so let it go.

"Let's go and dig up Sasuke." Naruto said as he began to walk away again.

Sakura was still confused but decided to follow him since he was leading her to Sasuke.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Sasuke saw Naruto coming toward him with Sakura in tow.

"What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm here to dig your sorry butt out of that hole." Naruto said, ignoring Sakura's scream and subsequent fainting at seeing Sasuke's head.

"I don't need your help." Sasuke said.

"Fine then get out of there on your own." Naruto said as he crossed his arms.

Sasuke gave him a glare but didn't say anything.

"That's what I thought." Naruto said as he began to dig the Uchiha up.

After Naruto had excavated the Uchiha and awoken Sakura, he began to think through the whole scenario.

Their teacher was purposefully trying to pit them against each other. They each had no chance against a jonin separately and even working together the chance of victory was slim. If all this was true and there had never been a two man squad, then the main goal must have been teamwork.

"I think I know what this test is all about." Naruto said.

"What do you mean Naruto? We have to get the bells." Sakura said.

"Wrong, why would he only bring two bells? Why the threat about going back to the academy? He is trying to split us up. The true purpose must be team work." Naruto said.

"Whatever, I don't need to work with you two to get a bell." Sasuke said as he began to walk away.

Naruto moved in front of him to block his path.

"Listen Sasuke, I don't care how good you think you are but none of us are good enough to beat a jonin." Naruto said testily.

"Get out of my way dobe. I don't have time to play ninja with you. I will fulfill my ambition, even if it means going against a jonin." Sasuke said as he tried to push his way through naruto.

Naruto grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and pushed him face first into a tree without releasing his hold.

"Look Uchiha, I have had it with your superiority complex. I don't care about your ambition or your dreams. If you go out there alone then you will be beaten again and I won't be there to pull you out of the dirt this time!" Naruto said angrily as he released Sasuke.

"Naruto, leave Sasuke alone!" Sakura yelled.

"Shut up Sakura, you were taken out by a simple genjutsu that a genin should have easily seen through! You both have gone it alone and have been beaten. If we work together as a team then we may be able to accomplish something." Naruto said, once again beginning to lose his temper.

Sakura looked at the ground in embarrassment and while Sasuke looked extremely angry at Naruto, he was going to listen. He was smart enough to see Naruto's point, even if he wouldn't admit that out loud. He would do what the dobe had in mind so that he could be a genin, but afterwards he was going to do things his own way.

"Now, then are you willing to listen to me?" Naruto asked.

Both genin looked at each other and then nodded.

"Here's what we do." Naruto said.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kakashi looked at the clock and saw that they only had a few minutes before time was up.

'I wonder what's keeping them.' He thought.

He then heard fighting occurring nearby and went to investigate. He saw Naruto and Sasuke fighting amongst themselves and Sakura yelling at Naruto.

Kakashi sighed. It seemed that he wasn't going to be able to pass them after all.

He went down to break them up. After separating Sasuke and Naruto he tied all three of them to a log and began to scold them when all three said one thing.

"Boom"

They exploded and dust was kicked up, obscuring his vision.

'That was pretty clever.' Kakashi thought as he waited to see what they had in store next.

He didn't have to wait long as numerous Naruto clones came forward to attack him. Their unorthodox fighting style combined with the smoke and dust to make fighting them slightly more difficult. While Kakashi eventually dispatched them he wasn't able to rest.

"**Fireball Jutsu**!"

"**Hidden Shadow Snakes**!"

Kakashi dodged a fireball and saw snakes attempting to grab him.

He grabbed one of the snakes and pulled Naruto toward him. As he prepared to toss the genin he had to release him to avoid a horde of kunai and shuriken thrown at him by Sakura.

'So they figured it out.' Kakashi thought with a smile.

The dust cleared and Kakashi found himself surrounded by his team.

Sasuke had the seal for another fireball.

Naruto also had a seal for a technique that he wasn't familiar with.

Sakura held kunai and shuriken at the ready.

Suddenly the bell rang.

"Well it seems that you failed to get the bells." Kakashi said with a smile.

"Maybe, but you never expected us to get them in the first place." Naruto said releasing the seal.

"Yeah you just wanted us to work as a team." Sakura said.

"That's true, the true purpose of this exam was to see if you could work together as a team even when you were forced to work separately." Kakashi said.

"Any idiot could see that." Sasuke said with a snort.

"Then why didn't you." Naruto said.

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke said angrily.

"Make me Sasuke. I was the one who discovered the true purpose of this exam, not you so get off of your high horse." Naruto said angrily.

"You don't want to start a fight with me, dobe." Sasuke said equally angry.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to damage your pride again would I?" Naruto sarcastically replied.

"Naruto, you shouldn't say that to Sasuke." Sakura said.

"Enough!" Kakashi said, quieting the genin. It was obvious that while they had worked well together temporarily, they still had no love between them.

"You are now a team. You need to overcome your differences and work together. Those who disobey the rules are trash but those that abandon their comrades are less then trash." He said.

"Sasuke, you need to learn to get off of your high horse and work with the others. Sakura your skills are well below where they could be. You need to work harder. Naruto while you did figure out the purpose behind the exam you need to work on your people skills." Kakashi said.

Naruto stared at him with anger in his eyes.

"What? My people skills are just fine when the ones I'm talking too are intelligent and don't have an irrational dislike toward me. What about you? There are plenty of different ways that you could have used to teach us teamwork. This was pretty obscure and stupid if you ask me." Naruto said hotly. He didn't need to be lectured by someone who was chronically late and seemed to enjoy giving misdirection to his students.

"Your job is to teach us things, but so far all I've learned is that we have to be careful of everything you say as it could be false information. While a ninja should look underneath the underneath, that shouldn't apply to comrades. We need to learn to completely trust each other and I can tell you right now that this entire test has done nothing but make me not trust you very much." Naruto said.

When he was training with Hinata and Shino they had overcome their problems by sitting down and talking things out. They learned to trust each other first and foremost and teamwork simply spanned form there. Kakashi was doing it all backwards in his opinion.

"Maybe, but it all worked out anyway. Meet me here tomorrow for your first team assignment." He said as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The genin looked at each other and all went their separate ways.

'I knew this was going to be a long day.' Naruto thought as he walked home.

He knew this team was going to be tough to work with. Sasuke was going to be a constant irritant and they would continually but heads. Sakura could be tolerable if she shut up but the problem was that she never did and her skills were pathetic. Kakashi was chronically late and his teaching skills were questionable at best.

He went to his apartment physically and emotionally drained. He hoped that things would get easier.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Unfortunately for Naruto things didn't. The next day they were told that they were going to start D rank missions. These missions were extremely simple and were more like chores. This frustrated Naruto, as he would much rather practice on his own then be grouped with his team doing these stupid missions.

Anko had given him some scrolls on simple kinjutsu basics to learn so that he could use the golden dragon sword that was given to him. He would practice on the weekends and was improving, though he refrained from bringing it on missions as it was hardly necessary.

Team seven was currently standing before the Hokage awaiting another mission.

Kakashi had his book out but wasn't reading it. His team was not living up to his expectations. He had hoped that Naruto's presence would help Sasuke calm down as he hoped they would eventually form a rivalry and become closer as friends, just as he had done with Obito. This, however, never happened for various reasons. While Sasuke wanted to prove his strength against Naruto, the reverse was not true. Naruto seemed to have no willingness to compete with Sasuke at all and this only served to further infuriate Sasuke and bring more tension to the group.

Sakura had also been a disappointment. She continued to fawn over Sasuke, though she had refrained from insulting Naruto as she feared his anger. She was far from a competent ninja and was the team's weak link.

Naruto was also not living up to what Kakashi had planned for him to. He wanted Naruto to become the heart of the team, but it was painfully obvious that Naruto had no desire to bond with them. He would work with them to complete a mission, but he didn't open up to any of them and refrained from talking unless he had to.

To put it simply, his team was an unmitigated disaster.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The third looked at the team before him with the same thoughts as Kakashi. He had hoped that they would overcome their differences and become a team of the same caliber as the sannin, but that simply wasn't happening. Not only were their personal interactions between each other nearly none existent, but they had come close to attacking each other, from what he had heard.

It seemed that Sasuke wanted to take the lead for every mission and would ignore Naruto's suggestions. This in turn would anger Naruto and they would have a verbal argument that had to be broken up by Kakashi. Sakura simply agreed with Sasuke all of the time, and thus was of no help.

Sarutobi sighed as he looked at Naruto. He had started to refer to him as Hokage-sama, which was a sign that he had lost Naruto's respect. Even now he saw no warmth in his eyes just boredom, anger and frustration. Sarutobi could see that unless something changed then this team would never be progress to their full potential.

"Alright team seven, it's time for another mission." He said as he looked through the D-rank missions.

"Hokage-sama if I may. I believe that we should be given a C-rank mission." Kakashi said quickly.

This shocked all who were present.

"Oh? And why is that Kakashi?" Sarutboi asked.

"Well Hokage-sama, my team has done the minimum number of D-rank missions needed to be completed before we are able to request a C-rank mission." He said.

"Be that as it may, from what I've heard your team doesn't work very well together. I don't think that they are ready." Sarutobi said.

"That may be Hokage-sama. But the missions we have been doing right now seem to bore my students, maybe if they were given a higher class mission then they would improve." Kakashi said.

Sarutobi looked at him. Normally he wouldn't do this but he could see the look of interest and anticipation in the genin's eyes.

'Maybe being out in the world will help them grow closer together.' He thought.

"Alright, I do have a simple mission for them. All you have to do is guard someone and lead them back to their country. You can come in now." He said.

An old man came in. He had a straw hat, an old worn grey shirt and pants and a bottle of sake in his hand.

"These are the brats that are supposed to be protecting me? What a joke, especially the short blonde one." He said.

Naruto didn't react except to glare at the old man which seemed to be enough as he backed off when he met the cold blue eyes of the genin.

"Don't worry I am a jonin and will be able to protect you if anything were to go array." Kakashi said.

"Alright we leave tomorrow at noon. Don't be late." The old man said.

"Team, go and get a good rest and meet me at the north gate tomorrow at noon." Kakashi said.

The genin nodded and walked out of the room leaving the Hokage alone with Kakashi.

"Do you think that this will be enough to get them on the right track Kakashi?" Sarutobi said.

He still didn't think that this was a good idea, but he wanted the team to work together.

"It may Hokage-sama" Kakashi said.

"I didn't expect so much trouble to come from them. I thought they would be able to work things out." Kakashi added.

"I think that we made a mistake when we placed them on the same team." Sarutobi said.

"Maybe, but I still think that they can pull it together. If only Naruto would open up more." Kakashi said.

Sarutobi looked out of the window at the back of said genin. He had rarely smiled since being placed on his team. He seemed to have shut out anyone other than Anko, Iruka, Hinata, and Shino. Sarutobi sighed sadly, he wondered if he should just change the teams.

Team eight had been having problems as well. It seemed that Hinata and Shino were having a hard time adapting to Kiba. Kiba wanted to be the leader and would constantly try to prove himself as the alpha of the team even when the situation called for him to step back and allow another to be in charge. Hinata seemed to be constantly upset and Shino had withdrawn himself from everyone except Hinata and Kurenai.

Sarutobi had to face facts. He had screwed up. He had let his failure of the past affect his decision when making the teams. He should have just placed Naruto with team eight, instead of trying to create a team like the sannin. In the process he had lost a potentially great team and had lost the respect of Naruto, Anko, Iruka, and Kurenai. He was getting too old for this.

"Kakashi I will allow you to take the mission, but if your team doesn't show improvement soon, then I will take action." Sarutboi said.

"I understand." Kakashi said, feeling a sense of desperation. He had to make sure that this mission went well.

"Also what did you think of our client?" the third asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice. He wasn't known as the professor for nothing. The client seemed scared of the idea of being guarded by children. It was as if he expected something of greater threat then common thugs.

"I think that he was hiding something." Kakashi said having gotten the same feeling from the client.

"I have an idea." Sarutobi said after a moment of contemplation.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto awoke and went through his normal routine for the day. He couldn't believe the way things were going. His team was pathetic to say the least. He couldn't be around Sasuke for three minutes before he wanted to punch the loser. He was constantly trying to prove himself superior and would disregard Naruto's input. Never mind the fact that he wouldn't even be a genin if it wasn't for Naruto.

Naruto began to pack with a sigh. He hoped that this mission would improve his mood. He hadn't been in the best of temperaments as of late. He couldn't see Shino or Hinata most of the time because of his missions and he missed them desperately. He wanted to be able to talk to someone without being judged or ignored.

As he began to leave he felt a strange sensation at the back of his head. He looked around trying to see what was causing the sensation. It was as if something was trying to gain his attention. His search came to an end when he looked at the sword that was given to him. He couldn't be sure, but he thought that this was where he was getting the sensation from.

He got the feeling that he should take it with him. He was still far from an expert with the blade and never had a real reason to take it with him on any of his prior missions. He picked it up and the sensation ceased. He remembered what the man had said.

'A great swordsman listens to his sword.'

Naruto placed the blade in his belt and left for the gate. He had a feeling that he would need it.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As Naruto arrived at the gate to find Sasuke and Sakura waiting for him along with the client, whose name he found out to be Tazuna.

"Took you long enough." Sasuke said.

Naruto ignored him and looked for Kakashi.

"Hey Naruto what's with the sword?" Sakura asked curiously.

"It was a gift." Naruto said simply.

"I bet you can't even use it right." Sasuke taunted.

Naruto looked at him with an upraised eye brow.

"Oh? Maybe I should use it against you, Uchiha." Naruto said placing his hand on the handle.

"Now, now that's enough." Kakashi said as he appeared. He took a look at Naruto's sword and was impressed by it; he would have to figure out who he had gotten it from.

"Any way team there is a change of plans. We will have another team accompanying us to the wave country."Kakashi said.

The genin looked at him with confusion.

"What for sensei?" Sakura asked.

"We just want to be careful and make sure that everything goes smoothly." Kakashi said with a smile.

"Who is it?" Sasuke said a bit angrily. He didn't think that they needed anyone else's help; they would just slow him down.

"That would be us."

The genin looked behind them and were meet face to face with team eight.

"We are your backup." Kurenai said with a smile directed at Naruto.

Naruto's eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his face for the first time in weeks.

"Hey Shino, Hinata-chan!" He said as he felt happiness and joy blossom in his chest at the sight of his best friends.

"Hello Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a smile that rivaled Naruto's. She had been ecstatic when Kurenai had told them that they were going on a mission with Naruto.

"It is good to see you Naruto." Shino said with a small smile as well.

"Hey what about me?" Kiba said, not enjoying the fact that he was being ignored.

None of the three acknowledged him as they began to converse with each other.

Kurenai walked up to Kakashi.

"Well it's good to see that they are still so close, no thanks to you Kakashi." She said with a frown. She was still angry with him for taking Naruto from her team.

Kakashi refrained from commenting as he saw the three genin interact.

'He looks so much happier.' He thought solemnly.

"Let's go." He said as the two teams formed up and began their journey to the wave.

It should have been a simple mission. However, what none of them realized was that this mission would affect the future in ways that none of them could have foreseen.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Here's chapter 7. I know that it was a bit slow, but don't worry. Now the action begins and I promise that there will be twists and turns all around. What twists? What do I have planned? Who will make an appearance? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Wave**

**I reached 100 reviews last chapter! I want to thank all those who have reviewed and given their opinion. I hope that I continue to perform up to your expectations.**

**Disclamier: I don't own Naruto**

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The two teams walked down the road toward their destination trying to keep themselves busy. Naruto was still conversing with Hinata and Shino. Sakura was trying to get Sasuke to go on a date with her. Kiba was still irritated at being ignored and walked in silence. Kurenai and Kakashi were in the rear behind Tazuna watching the young genin.

"I can't believe how Naruto acts around them. He seems to be a different person" Kakashi said.

"What do you expect? They are his best friends and have never done anything wrong to him. He should be on a team with them." Kurenai said sharply.

Kakashi winced at her tone as well as the hard look in her eyes. She was still angry with him and he could tell that this would be a long mission.

Kakashi noticed a puddle in the road, and considering that it hadn't rained in a while, it instantly gained his attention. He looked at Kurenai and her small, almost imperceptible, nod let him know that she too had noticed the anomaly. She gave him a look that seemed to ask what he wanted to do about it. He gave a small shake of his head, telling her to wait and see what would happen.

The two jonin were not the only ones to notice the strange puddle, however. Shino stiffened very slightly, this small gesture would normally not be noticed, but Naruto and Hinata had known Shino long enough to be able to read his movements. They were instantly on guard for whatever was about to come their way, though they continued to converse between themselves so that they wouldn't have appeared to notice that something was wrong.

Suddenly a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it flew out of the puddle and landed in the middle of the group.

"Scatter!" Naruto yelled as the tag went off.

As they jumped for cover, two ninjas appeared out of the puddle. They both wore breath masks over their faces, had black shaggy hair, camouflage pants, and each had a metal claw on one of their hands that were connected by a razor chain. These were the demon brothers. They were missing ninjas from the mist village and were at chunin level.

"**Mizu Bushin!**" They yelled. Suddenly, five clones of the brothers appeared from the puddle. The clones instantly attacked the genin and jonin.

The demon brothers had been lying in wait for the group to pass them by. They had expected the man to hire ninjas to protect him and were prepared. If they came against regular chunin, then they would have fought them one on one and attempted to overwhelm them. If they came across a jonin then they would have tried to use a sneak attack to kill him and then go for the target. However, they were not expecting to come across two jonin at the same time. As chunin level ninja they weren't stupid enough to try and take them both out at the same time so they formed another plan. They decided to take advantage of the genin. Their plan was to first create chaos among the groups. Next, they would make clones to attack the genin, forcing the jonin to protect their teams, and then they would kill the bridge builder and leave before the teams could regroup and stop them.

However, there were two problems with their plan. One was that these were no ordinary jonin. Kakashi was considered to be the best jonin in konoha, and Kurenai was quickly moving up the ranks and was considered to be one of the best. Their second problem was that these were no ordinary genin. Naruto, Shino, and Hinata had stuck together when they had jumped out of the way of danger and together ran to protect the bridge builder.

As the clones attacked, the real brothers went for the bride builder. They were surprised to see three genin standing in their way, but weren't about to give up on their target. Naruto stepped up and cut the chain connecting their gloves together in half. Undeterred, the brothers detached the severed chain from their gloves and attempted to impale Naruto through the chest.

However, Hinata and Shino stood up and protected their friend. Hinata kicked one of the brothers in the head, which disoriented him enough for Naruto to plant an uppercut to his chin.

Shino side stepped the second brother's claw, grabbed his wrist and pinned him to the ground, releasing bugs onto him as he did so. Needless to say that this brother was soon unconscious from having his chakra drained from him.

The first brother recovered from Naruto's blow and was about to continue his attack when he noticed that his brother had been captured and that the jonin had easily dispatched their clones and were coming to apprehend him. He pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground. When the smoke had cleared he was gone, and so was his brother. It seemed that he had knocked Shino away and recovered his brother's unconscious body from the genin.

Kurenai and Kakashi reorganized the teams as well as thought about the events that had just transpired. They had eliminated their clones quickly and were pleased to see that Kiba and Sasuke were able to take out the ones that had come for them. However, Kakashi had to dispatch the ones coming at Sakura as she had been frozen in place at the sight of an enemy shinobi.

The jonin had seen the real brothers attack the bridge builder and would have stepped in except that it wasn't necessary. Naruto, Hinata, and Shino had worked perfectly and defended one another as if it was a practiced thing.

"That was a good job." Kakashi said slightly impressed with the way the three genin had worked. They had not frozen up in front of the shinobi. They had stayed together amide the confusion and even had the wherewithal to protect the bridge builder.

"I see that the time apart hasn't lessened your ability to work together." Kurenai said with a self- satisfied look on her face.

"Who were they?" Naruto questioned.

"If I'm right then they were known as the demon brothers. They are missing ninja from the mist village and they weren't here for us, were they Tazuna?" Kakashi said as he gave the bridge builder a glare.

"W-what are you talking about?" He said meekly.

"Don't give us that. We hung back to see who their target was. They immediately went for you."Kurenai said, also giving him a glare.

"Alright, I'll tell you why they were after me." He said dejectedly.

Tazuna began to explain the history of his country. Wave country was isolated from the rest of the main land. They needed the bridge built as it would allow them to be able to trade with the main land and his country would flourish. However, a man named Gato, who was considered one of the richest men in the world wanted to put a stop to that. If the bridge was built then he would lose all of his business around the wave country and he wasn't about to let that happen. He tried to keep the country under his iron fist and killed any who went against him.

"So you see, my country needs this bride built or we will forever be under the rule of that tyrant." Tazuna said, with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"What do you think?" Kakashi asked Kurenai.

"I think that we were lied to about the mission and we aren't obligated to help, but at the same time I think that we can't turn our backs on this country." She said.

"Anyone want to quit?" kakashi asked the genin.

"I say we continue." Naruto said. Naruto looked calm, but Kakashi could see a fire behind his eyes. He wanted to save the country and release these people from Gato.

"I agree." Shino said.

"As do I." Hinata replied.

Sasuke simply nodded.

"I-I guess." Sakura said, unsure.

"Sure! We'll kick Gato's butt." Kiba added, as Akamaru barked his consent.

"Alright then, lead the way." Kakashi said looking at Tazuna.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" The old man said with tears in his eyes.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So you've come back in defeat." Said a figure as he looked at the demon brothers.

He was a tall man at about the same height as Kakashi. He had wrappings around his lower face and only wore camouflage pants. He held a huge sword in his hands as he looked at the brothers. This was Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the hidden mist.

"Hai, Zabuza-sama." The brothers said with their faces lowered.

"Go see to your injuries, and get out of my face." He said sharply.

The brothers quickly bowed and left, they were surprised that they hadn't been punished.

Zabuza was in deep thought. If what the brothers said was true then he had not one but two jonin to face as well as a few surprisingly good genin. Normally Zabuza would have scoffed at the notion that he would be defeated by a lowly jonin, but he hadn't lived this long by being stupid. He knew that one of the jonin was Kakashi Hatake. He was in every bingo book around and any ninja worth his head band knew of the great "copy ninja". The other jonin wasn't familiar to him but he had heard of a beautiful konoha jonin who specialized in genjutsu and she was said to be very dangerous. Zabuza was sure that he could face either one of them on equal terms, but he wasn't fool enough to go up against two jonin by himself.

"Well what do we have here?"

Zabuza looked up to see a small little man in an expensive suit. This was Zabuza's employer, Gato.

"I heard that your little friends failed to kill the bridge builder." Gato said.

When Zabuza didn't reply Gato became angry. "Well what are you gonna do about it? I payed good money for you to kill that guy!" he said.

Gato shut up very quickly when Zabuza swung his massive sword toward him. He stopped the swing with the point of the blade directly in Gato's face.

"Shut up." Zabuza said.

"Kill him or else." Gato said fearfully as he left.

"What will you do now Zabuza-sama." asked a masked figure that came from shadows.

"I will kill the bridge builder, but I don't really want to die myself, so I will have to make a plan first." He replied to the figure.

"I want you to do something for me Haku." Zabuza said.

The masked figure removed the mask to reveal the face of a beautiful fifteen year old girl. She had shoulder length black hair and brown eyes.

"I live to serve you Zabuza-sama." Haku said.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The two teams made it to the wave country without further incident. They had formed up into the teams with team eight in the front. As they were a tracking team they would keep the lookout for any incoming enemies.

This also meant, however, that Naruto wasn't able to talk to Hinata or Shino anymore and was once again put with his team. The joy he had been feeling earlier was starting to dim as he was once again reminded that they weren't his teammates. Team seven noticed the sudden change in attitude of Naruto and all reacted differently.

Sasuke didn't care and didn't dwell on it.

Sakura was confused as to why he would suddenly change so quickly. She thought back to when they first met and remembered how he had said that they really knew nothing about him and yet they judged him. She remembered what she had said about Hinata and Shino and was slightly saddened by her words. She had seen them fight and could see that they were clearly further along than she. She was the only one who wasn't able to fight the clones that had attacked them.

'All I have ever said about them is negative, yet they are much better than me.' She thought. 'I wonder what you are really like Naruto.'

Kakashi noticed the change and could only sigh. He wanted Naruto to act the same way he had earlier with his own team, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen. He was greatly impressed with the way he, Hinata, and Shino had worked earlier. There was no hesitation, no confusion; they hadn't even talked about what they were going to do. They simply reacted in perfect unison. As much as Kakashi didn't want to admit it, they truly worked together as a team. Kakashi knew that if something promising didn't come up soon, then the Third might very well split his team up.

As the group came upon the wave country, they were shocked to see it in such disarray. The food vendors had very little food, the buildings were in need of repairs, and everyone had a look of utter defeat about them. It was as if their spirits had been broken.

They went to Tazuna's house and were greeted by his daughter. She was a beautiful woman of about thirty with long black hair and black eyes; she wore simple garments and had on an apron. Her name was Tsunami.

"Father, your back!" she said in obvious relief.

"Yes I am, thanks to these ninja." Tazuna replied as he wrapped his daughter in a hug.

The genin entered the house and began to relax.

"Okay, I will take one of the rooms with Hinata and Sakura. Kiba and Shino will share a room as well" Kurenai said.

"I will take a room with Sasuke and Naruto." Kakashi said.

"Who are they" said a voice.

They all turned toward the stairwell and saw a young boy of about 10. He had short black hair and a cap over his head. His expression was one of distrust and disgust.

"These are the ninja who are going to protect your grandfather." Tsunami said.

"They should leave." He said angrily as he walked back upstairs.

"You'll have to forgive Inari, he has gone through a lot." Tsunami said.

Naruto looked at the retreating boy inquisitively. He wondered what could've happened to make such a young boy so bitter.

After everyone had gotten settled, the jonin gathered their students and began to go over what had happened before.

"Okay I think that we need to prepare for more trouble." Kakashi said.

"What do you mean, Kakashi-senesi?" Sakura asked.

"I mean that the demon brothers will be back, and they will bring a jonin level ninja with them, most likely." He replied.

"While you all performed well against the brothers, next time they won't underestimate you and they will have a ninja of far greater power." Kurenai added.

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Kiba asked.

"We are going to train you of course." Kakashi said with a smile.

This immediately gained the attention of the genin.

"Train how?" Naruto asked suspiciously, in all the time his team had been together they hadn't trained once.

"You'll find out tomorrow." Kakashi replied.

After this most of the genin relaxed around the house and began to think about what tomorrow would bring.

Tsunami needed to head to the market to get more food for dinner, and to keep her safe Naruto and Hinata volunteered to go with her.

As they walked around the two genin came to realize just how sad and pathetic the country was. Most of the children would come up and beg for food, and it tore at the genin's hearts to turn them away.

Finally Tsunami finished and began to head back to the house. Naruto and Hinata were trailing behind her when they heard a commotion a few blocks away. Naruto decided to investigate while Hinata stayed close to Tsunami, just in case.

When Naruto came upon the disturbance he saw two thugs threatening a young girl. Naruto immediately jumped down to help her.

"Hey back off!" he yelled as he landed between the girl and the thugs.

"Well, look what we have here, a wanna be hero." One of the thugs said laughing.

"I don't like heroes. Let's teach him a lesson." The other one replied as they advanced toward Naruto.

Naruto looked at them lazily. They weren't even ninja and he made quick work of them with a few punches and kicks.

After they limped off, Naruto turned toward the young girl to see if she was alright.

"Hey are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Y-yes. Thank You." She said.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked as he got a good look at her.

She seemed to be a year or two his senior and had shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a pink dress and sandals.

'She's kind of cute, but not as cute as Hinata. Wait, where did that come from?' Naruto thought.

"My name is Haku." Haku said, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts.

"My name is Naruto. What were you doing out here by yourself? Where are your parents?" Naruto asked.

"I don't have any parents." Haku replied sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Naruto said truthfully. He knew what it was like not to have any parents.

"Don't worry about it. What are you doing in wave?" Haku asked.

"I'm with two teams, and we are here to protect the old man and make sure that he completes the bridge, so that this can stop." Naruto said looking at the desolate place angrily.

Haku was surprised. When Zabuza had told her to go under cover and try to learn all she could about the ninja they would be fighting, she hadn't thought that she would get the reaction that she received from Naruto. She thought that he would have told her it was a mission and left it at that, but she could see in his expression that he wanted to help these people, not because it was a mission but because he thought it was the right thing to do.

"Well it was nice to meet you Naruto, and I thank you for helping me. Maybe I'll see you around." Haku said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Haku." Naruto said as he left.

'You are very interesting Naruto. I wonder what I can learn from you.' Haku thought as she left to return to Zabuza.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Later that night, as the teams were preparing to go to sleep. Sakura looked at her roommates in confusion. Hinata and Kurenai were arranging things without consulting one another. They also seemed to have a relationship far closer then student and teacher.

"Hey Kurenai-sensei, how is it that you and Hinata seem to relaxed and calm around each other?" She asked.

"Well Hinata and I live together and have known one another for a long time. She is officially my little sister. It's only natural that we would be comfortable around each other." Kurenai said.

"Well, I'm going to go talk with our client for a moment, why don't you two finish unpacking everything." She said as she walked out.

Kurenai could feel that there was tension between Hinata and Sakura and hoped that if they were left alone then they would work it out. Sakura wasn't high on Kurenai's favorites list because of the way that she treated Naruto, but she was willing to work with the girl for the duration of the mission. She wasn't sure if Hinata could do the same, and so she decided to see if they could at least learn to put their differences aside to work together on the mission.

After Kurenai left, the room feel into an uncomfortable silence. Sakura looked at Hinata but received a glare in return.

'Why is she looking at me like that?' Sakura wondered.

"Well, let's finish up." Hinata said sharply.

"Hey Hinata, are you upset with me or something?" Sakura asked.

"Oh and why would you think that Sakura?" Hinata asked sarcastically.

"Hey, I haven't done anything to you!" she said, angry with Hinata's tone.

"What about Naruto-kun!" Hinata replied sharply.

"What about him?" Sakura asked, her anger turning into confusion.

"Naruto-kun and Shino are my best friends, when someone is mean to them then they won't place high on my favorite people list." Hinata told her with a glare.

"You treat Naruto-kun badly, without ever getting to know him. You continue to fawn over the Uchiha and ridicule Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun has to put up with yours and Sasuke's crap all the time. So excuse me if I am upset with you." Hinata said hotly.

Sakura wanted to deny Hinata's words, but she couldn't. She still remembered what Naruto had told her the first day that they were placed on the same team.

"Hinata, what can you tell me about Naruto?" Sakura asked softly.

Hinata was surprised for a moment. She had expected Sakura to deny her claims and become angry with her, yet she was instead asking about Naruto.

"Why?" Hinata asked suspiciously.

"Back on the first day that we were placed on a team, Naruto exploded at me and Sasuke-kun about the fact that we always put him down but never try to understand him." She said.

"That's true, so why the sudden change of heart?" Hinata asked.

"When we were attacked, I'm the only one that froze up. I was so scared that I couldn't move. You guys, however, moved and reacted together without fear, or hesitation. It was then that I wondered what made you guys tick. Naruto is so relaxed around you two, but around us he seems to close himself off. I wanted to know what makes him act that way." Sakura asked.

Hinata looked long and hard at Sakura's face. She could see that she was sincere in her request, but that wasn't enough for Hinata.

"If you want to know more about him, then ask him yourself." Hinata said as she began to finish unpacking their equipment.

Sakura sighed. It seemed that she wasn't going to get any information from Hinata.

'I guess I will ask Naruto, but I wonder if he'll even answer me.' She thought as she went to help Hinata.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

While the girls were conversing, Naruto had left to use the bathroom when he ran across Kurenai.

"Hello Naruto." Kurenai said warmly.

"Hey Kurenai-sensei." Naruto replied with equal warmth.

"So what do you think about the mission?" She asked him.

"So far I think it has only reinforced my idea that I should be on your team." Naruto said sadly.

Kurenai felt sorry for Naruto. He had been very happy when he saw that they were going to accompany his team on the mission and being around Shino and Hinata really seemed to boost his mood. They had worked flawlessly earlier, when fighting the brothers and it must have hurt to be reminded afterwards that they weren't on the same team.

"I just don't understand it. Me, Hinata-chan, and Shino have been friends for so long. We work together without complaint and have never had a problem between us. So why aren't we on the same team?" He asked, truly confused.

"Well why don't you ask your sensei?" Kurenai replied in an angry tone, this was Kakashi's fault in her opinion.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I always wanted you on my team Naruto and I requested it to the Hokage, but Kakashi intervened." She said.

"Why!" Naruto asked angrily.

"I don't know, but the Hokage agreed and there was nothing I could do. I am sorry Naruto, I truly wanted to teach you." She replied sadly.

Naruto was irate. Not only was the old man at fault, but his own sensei was also responsible for the way things were. He left toward his room without saying anything to Kurenai.

'Karma sucks, doesn't it Kakashi?' she thought smugly.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kakashi was currently reading his Icha Icha book when Naruto burst through the door. Kakashi could see that Naruto was in a bad mood and it seemed to be directed at him.

"Something wrong Naruto?" He asked curiously.

"Wrong? No, nothing's wrong except I just found out that one of the reasons that I'm on this stupid team is because of you!" He yelled.

Kakashi winced at his tone, as well as his expression. It seemed to be a mixture of anger, frustration, and pain.

"Naruto, there are reasons…." He began before Naruto cut him off.

"Shut up! I don't care what your reason was. What could possibly be the reason behind separating me from my oldest friends?" Naruto replied.

"Shut up dobe, some people are trying to sleep, and I don't want to hear your crying." Sauske said from his position on the floor.

"Sasuke, why don't you go out and train for a while." Kakashi said, trying to halt the argument that always followed one of Sasuke's remarks.

Sasuke simply grunted and walked to the door.

"You should be glad that you're even on my team, dobe. Maybe now you'll actually get somewhere since you aren't paired with those loser friends of yours."He said as he was about to pass Naruto.

He was stopped when he found the point of Naruto's sword at his throat.

"You just don't know when to quit do you?" Naruto asked in a deadly tone.

"I told you that I wouldn't put up with your crap Uchiha. So let this be your last warning. If you open your mouth to say anything negative about my friends again, then you'll find out very quickly how sharp my blade is." He added.

"Enough!" Kakashi said harshly.

"Naruto put your sword away! Sasuke leave!" He said sternly.

Naruto slowly sheathed his sword and Sasuke walked out without saying anything.

"Naruto can't you at least try to be nicer around your teammates?" Kakashi asked with a sigh. The way things were going, he didn't think that there was any hope for his team.

"Oh, I am so sorry! Let me roll over and take all of their crap willingly! I should really make an effort to be nice to those that hate me! " Naruto yelled sarcastically.

"Naruto, I'm just saying that maybe if you opened up more around them then they may change." Kakashi said.

Naruto didn't reply. He simply looked at Kakashi for a long moment.

"Is that the reason that you wanted me on this team? So that I could somehow affect Saukra and Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly.

"I had hoped that your presence could help them." Kakashi said softly.

"So the reason that I am not on the team with my best friends is because you decided that I should be used like a tool to help those two improve." Naruto stated coldly.

Kakashi once again winced at Naruto's tone. He could tell that whatever level of respect that Naruto held for him was falling fast.

'Maybe I should tell him everything.' Kakashi thought.

Kakashi then proceeded to explain to Naruto something that he had only shared with a few people, his past. He told Naruto about his father, about his old team and how his best friend had died to protect him. He told Naruto about how everyone he really cared about was dead and how he felt he failed them and wanted to redeem himself. He revealed everything and held nothing back.

After he was done he felt tired. It had been so long since he had told anyone about his past, and the emotions that they always invoked in him left him drained. He saw that Naruo had his eyes closed and seemed to be processing everything he heard.

Kakashi was hopeful that he had gotten through to the genin and that Naruto finally saw things his way.

"I understand why you did it, but I still don't agree." Naruto said finally, opening his eyes as he began to speak.

"The past is the past. You should learn to move on. I understand that you see a lot of your old team in us, but the fact is that we are different from your old team. We have different personalities and different habits. You can't change the past, and training us won't bring back those that you have lost." Naruto said as he turned to leave. His tone was angry or even cold. His tone was calm and had a hint of pity.

Kakashi could only lower his head as Naruto left.

'Minato-sensei, it seems that I have failed again.' He thought to himself.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So what did you learn?" Zabuza asked Haku. Zabuza was currently training in his kenjutsu style when Haku had returned to report her findings.

"I haven't learned much yet Zabuza-sama. I have made contact with one of the ninja and plan to seek him out tomorrow." Haku replied.

"Good keep me informed. I want to know everything you can tell me about them. Strengths, weaknesses, special abilities, everything you can." He said.

"I will not fail Zabuza-sama." Haku replied as she turned to leave.

'The best way to defeat your enemy is to understand your enemy. I will learn everything that I can and then I will make a plan to kill those ninja and the bridge builder.' Zabuza thought.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**And here's chapter eight. I am taking requests on whether Haku and Zabuza should live or die. I can work either angle but want to know what you as readers would like to see. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The teams found themselves in the forest the next morning, awaiting their sensei and anticipating what the training would be like.

Naruto was once again spending his time with Hinata and Shino.

Sakura was not bugging Sasuke for a date. She was instead looking at Naruto and wondering how to approach him without getting her head bitten off by him or Hinata.

Sasuke was, no surprise, by himself contemplating the training.

Kiba was conversing with Akamaru and looking angrily at Naruto. He was Hinata's and Shino's teammate, yet they had never been as open to him as they were currently with Naruto.

Kakashi and Kurenai arrived, though there seemed to be some friction between them. Kakashi knew that it was Kurenai who told Naruto about the team arrangements. When he confronted her about this, she admitted it without a shred of remorse. To Kurenai, Kakashi had it coming eventually and she wasn't about to apologize.

"Okay, today I think that you should work on your chakra control." Kakashi said.

"How are we going to do that, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"By climbing trees." He stated simply with a smile.

"We already know how to climb trees." Kiba said a bit irritably.

"Oh? You can climb trees without using your hands?" Kakashi asked.

"No way, that's not possible." Kiba said.

Kakashi didn't respond, he simply walked toward the nearest tree and began to walk up the trunk with no effort.

"How are you doing that?" Sakura asked with a hint of awe in her voice.

"This is a simple chakra control and building exercise." Kakashi said.

"Is this it?" Naruto asked with a bored look on his face.

"What do you mean Naruto." Kakashi asked.

"I already know how to do this." Naruot said.

"As do I." Shino said.

"Me too." Hinata stated.

"What? How?" Kakashi asked.

"They know because I taught them." Kurenai answered.

"Before they graduated, I'm sure you know that they trained together under Anko and me. We taught them some of the elementary things that we thought they needed to know." She explained.

"Hey, why didn't you teach it to me Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked, angry that Naruto was closer to his teammates then he.

"We didn't have time Kiba. Most of the time we had was used trying to get your team work up to par." She explained.

"How well can you three do this?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto, Hinata, and Shino all walked toward a different tree and calmly walked up to the very top.

"Well, that answers that. I have an idea Kakashi, why don't I take Naruto with me and train them and you can take Kiba and help him learn the tree climbing technique?" Kurenai said.

Kakashi was slightly irked that Kurenai was closer to Naruto than he, but knew that bringing this up now was not professional, nor would it be productive.

"Fine." Kakashi said with a sigh.

As Kurenai took the three genin away, Kakashi looked at Naruto's retreating back.

He remembered their conversation last night and what Naruto told him.

'Maybe the past is affecting my judgment.' Kakashi thought as he turned to instruct the three genin he was left with.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kurenai had the genin work on their team work. She didn't care what it took or the consequences, she was going to demand Naruto be placed on her team. The fight yesterday had only cemented the fact that the teams were wrong, in her mind and she refused to see a team with the potential of the sannin be split up.

If asked why she was so adamant about teaching them, then Kurenai may have revealed that her past was a large factor. Kurenai had led a relatively simple life for the first few years that she was alive. Her parents were simple merchants and they were very happy. However, all that changed when Kurenai was five years old.

She and her parents were traveling to Konoha from a neighboring country when they had been attacked by bandits. He parents had told her to run and not to look back. She was frozen in front of the bandits, however, and couldn't move. A bandit ran to stab her, but her mother moved in the way and took the attack for her.

The last words that came from her mother's mouth were to run to the village. She suddenly took off down the road toward konoha. She heard her parent's screams behind her but she was too afraid to look back. When she arrived at Konoha, she immediately screamed for help and the guards at the gate left to investigate. However, by the time they arrived it was too late, her parents were dead.

After that, Kurenai was placed in an orphanage for the next five years of her life until she could enroll in the academy. She was determined to become a ninja so that she would never be powerless to protect those she cared about. She refused to let fear control her again.

Academy life wasn't easy, however. She didn't know anyone and was very reserved. She was constantly picked on and told that she wouldn't be a good shinobi as women were not as good as men. She refused to let what they said affect her. She persevered and graduated at the top of her class. She vowed that she would not only become strong enough to protect those she cared for, but she would also prove that women could become great ninjas.

This was why she was so close to the three genin she was training. She saw a lot of her younger self in Hinata, which is why she decided to adopt her and tried to always encourage her. Both she and Naruto knew what it was like to be alone. She also knew what it was like to be ridiculed for something you had no control over, like Shino. All of these things went through Kurenai's mind as she had the three genin run through different exercises.

Kurenai was brought out of her thoughts when she sensed someone nearby.

"Who's out there?" She asked as Naruto, Shino, and Hinata tensed in preparation for an attack.

"I'm sorry for spying on you." Haku said as she walked out from behind a tree.

"Hey, you're Haku right?" Naruto asked.

"That's right; I wanted to thank you again for rescuing me yesterday." Haku said.

"No problem." Naruto said, waving it off.

"Naruto-kun, who is this?" Hinata asked, with a hint of jealousy.

"Oh, she was the person I rescued yesterday when we heard that commotion." Naruto said not comprehending her tone.

"My name is Shino Aburame." Shino said.

"I am Hinata Yuhi." Hinata said, having calmed down.

"Pleased to meet you." Haku said with a smile.

At first Kurenai was suspicious of the young girl, but she seemed nice enough so she let it go.

"I couldn't help but notice you training. You are all very impressive." Haku said.

"Thanks, but we still have to improve." Naruto said.

"Why? You seem strong enough already." Haku said trying to discover what motivated them.

"We have to become stronger if we want to be able to protect the bridge builder." Shino said.

"Oh, then you want to grow stronger for those you care about. I feel that true strength comes from fighting for those that are precious to you." Haku said sincerely.

"I agree." Naruto said, thinking about all of the people who were precious to him.

"Do you mind if I watch while you continue to practice?" Haku asked.

"I don't see why not." Kurenai said with a smile.

The genin resumed their practice and Haku was amazed at the level at which they fought. Their teamwork was flawless and she could see that this could be a problem in the future for Zabuza.

"You are all amazing. I don't think I have ever seen a team with so much chemistry between them." Haku said at the end of the day.

"Oh and how many ninja teams have you come across?" Kurenai asked.

Haku could see that she had misspoken. The way she had phrased her comment made it sound as if she was familiar with ninja, and this could potentially ruin her cover.

"I have seen a few from my original home." Haku said honestly. She knew that she couldn't lie in front of a jonin and expect to get away with it.

"Where is your home?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I was born in the mist village. Life was hard but my parents were very much in love and we lived happily. I grew up loved and happy until something went wrong." Haku said sadly.

"What went wrong?" Hinata asked.

"My father killed my mother and tried to kill me." Haku replied.

"What?! Why would he do that?" Naruto asked angrily, he couldn't even imagine what would make a man harm his wife and children.

"He found out a secret about my mother and me that we had no control over. Once he discovered this secret he killed her in front of me and I attempted to kill me. I was able to escape but I was alone." Haku said.

By this point, Naruto, Shino, Hinata, and even Kurenai's heart went out to the girl. They all knew what she was going through. Each had experienced at least part of her past before.

"Afterwards, I was all alone. No one cared for me and I would have died if not for my special person. He found me and cared for me. He gave my life a purpose. He nursed me back to health and I owe him my life. I will do anything to protect him and help him realize his dream." Haku concluded.

"That's so sad." Hinata said with tears in her eyes.

"What is the secret that your father discovered?" Shino asked.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to reveal that yet." Haku said apologetically.

"It's alright, we understand." Naruto said in a comforting tone. He knew how hard it was to reveal a secret that may make others look at you differently.

"Well let's go back. Haku would you like to accompany us?" Kurenai asked kindly.

"Thank You, but I must be getting back. It was very nice to meet you and I hope that I can watch you train more." She said as she began to walk away.

"She seems very nice." Shino said watching her retreating back.

"Oh? What do you mean by that Shino?" Naruto asked suggestively, with a smile on his face.

"Nothing." Shino said as he turned his back on his friend and began walking back to the house.

"Yeah sure." Naruto said with the same smile as everyone began to walk back.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kakashi was already at the house when Kurenai and the others arrived. As much as it irritated him he had to admit that Kiba was a good match on his team. His need to prove his dominance worked very well in spurring him against Sasuke, thereby pushing both to be better than the other. It was exactly the way he had wanted Naruto to react with Sasuke. Also, Sakura had really gone at the training with vigor. She was completely focused and truly seemed like she wanted to improve. He wondered where that came from.

"What's for dinner?" Naruto asked as he sat at the table, disrupting Kakashi's thoughts.

"Say Naruto, what did you guys work on?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"We went over our teamwork and made sure that we hadn't lost any of our previous continuity." Shino replied calmly for his friend.

Kakashi gave Kurenai an annoyed look. It seemed that she was dead set on teaching Naruto like he was her student.

Kurenai returned Kakashi's look with a raised eyebrow, as if to ask what he planned to do about it. This had Kakashi at a loss. After last night he really didn't seem to be able to get through to Naruto. Naruto seemed a little more respectful now that he knew the reasons for Kakashi's actions, but that was a long way from accepting what he had done. He knew that if he tried to stop Naruto from being with Hinata and Shino then he would only further alienate himself from the young genin.

"Why don't you all get ready for dinner?" Kurenai asked the six genin, who promptly left the room.

After they left, a tense silence fell over the room until Kurenai decided to end it.

"What is your problem Kakashi?" Kurenai said a bit exasperated.

"My problem? You are the one who can't seem to get over the fact that Naruto isn't on your team." Kakashi said angrily.

"And you're the one who can't seem to let go of the past!" Kurenai yelled.

Seeing Kakashi's stunned expression, she decided to elaborate.

"No Naruto didn't go into the details about your past, but he did say that it was what influenced your decision to have him on your team." Kurenai said.

"You need to let go of the past Kakashi. I don't know what happened to you and it very well may have been extremely painful, but that doesn't give you an excuse to allow it to mess up your future." She added.

Kakashi was silent. He had heard the same from Naruto and couldn't deny the truth behind it.

"Look Kakashi, I know what it's like to lose someone very important to you and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about them, but we can't allow what happened to us to govern our lives. We should learn from the past so that we can have a better future." She said with a hint of sympathy. Kakashi wasn't a bad person; he just needed to learn to let the past rest and to move on.

"Maybe your right, Kurenai" Kakashi admitted tiredly. "I have let the past determine my actions and have caused a lot of problems for the both of us. Truth be told, Kiba is a far better match for my team."

"I'm glad that you have gotten over the past." Kurenai said with a smile.

"I haven't." Kakashi said as he turned to leave the house for a moment alone.

Kurenai watched him leave with sadness reflected in her eyes. She had lost her parents, but she wondered what could have happened in Kakashi's past to make him the way he was. In some ways, she didn't want to know.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The rest of the week went along in a similar fashion. Naruto, Shino, and Hinata would train with Kurenai while Sakura, Sasuke and Kiba would train with Kakashi.

Haku would come by every day and watch them train. Haku was torn between her duties to Zabuza and her feelings toward the genin. She knew that she was a tool for Zabuza, but she didn't want anything to happen to them either. She felt comfortable around Naruto, Shino, and Hinata and was close to considering them friends. They shared their pasts to her, though Naruto was very vague, and seemed to accept her with open arms. She knew that the bridge would be finished soon and Zabuza would make his move. Then she would have to fight the ones who were becoming her friends.

Naruto was fun to be around as he had a very comforting personality, which makes it easy to relax around him.

Hinata was very kind, after being assured that nothing had happened between her and Naruto, and they got along very well as both knew the pain of being betrayed by their fathers.

Shino was a mystery to her, but not in a bad way. He rarely talked but everything he said had a purpose, and it was easy to see that he cared for his friends. His attitude reminded her of Zabuza in that he rarely showed his emotions. His presence was always inviting and accepting, and she felt closer to him when she found out about his bloodline. He, like her, knew what it was like to be looked down upon because of one's bloodline.

Kurenai was very friendly to her as well. She seemed to be very close to the three genin and was a fair and competent teacher.

All in all, Haku was happier than she had been for a long time. Being around them gave her a warm feeling of belonging that she didn't even know that she was missing until she found it.

"Hey Haku, why don't you have dinner with us today." Naruto said after their training had ended.

"This may be the last chance as we will be leaving soon. Besides, you haven't met the rest of our group yet." Hinata added.

Haku looked at her in surprise.

'Of course, how could I have forgotten the others, I don't know much at all about them yet.' Haku thought with chagrin. She couldn't believe that she had gotten so absorbed with the three genin that she had forgotten her main goal.

"I would like that, if you don't think that I would be imposing." She replied calmly, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

"You won't be imposing." Shino said as he left towards the house.

"Yeah let's go." Naruto said as he followed his friend.

As Haku followed them to the house her thoughts were once again returned to the fact that soon they would be enemies. This saddened her as she had rarely had any friends. The demon brothers were brotherly to her, but weren't much for conversation. Zabuza was cold most of the time to everyone. This had truly been one of the best times Haku had since leaving the mist village.

'I hope that we can complete our mission without killing any of you.' Haku thought as she looked at the backs of her friends sadly.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

At dinner, everyone seemed to handle Haku's presence differently.

Thinking that she was a child from the country, Tazuna and Tsunami were very kind to her. Sasuke acted indifferent. Kiba looked at her with one thought, 'She is hot!' Kakashi didn't seem to care. Sakura looked at her in sympathy when she told them her cover story.

Haku was trying to measure the strength of the ninja. She could tell that Sakura wasn't much of a threat. Kiba looked strong and he had no problem boasting at the mouth about his strengths. Sasuke said nothing when she attempted to make conversation, which resulted in Naruto yelling at him for ignoring her. She could tell that there was definite tension between the two. She knew form Zabuza that Kakashi wasn't a ninja to trifle with so she made sure that she did nothing that could have raised the jonin's suspicion of her.

After dinner was over everyone simply relaxed around the table until Inari spoke.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked quietly, with his head pointed to the table.

"Why do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Why are you trying to fight!? Gato has lots of thugs and he is too powerful, you should just leave and go home!" he yelled, finally making eye contact with them.

"What? No way, we aren't going to give up no matter how many men he has we will take them all out." Kiba said with an overconfident look on his face.

"Shut up! You can't win against Gato! None of you are from around here so you don't know the pain that we have had to go through!" He yelled.

"So you think that we should just give up? We aren't cowards!" Kiba yelled becoming angry.

"You should keep your mouth shut about things that you don't understand. People in this country have tried to stand against Gato and all of them have paid for it, even my father!" Inari yelled as tears began to flow down his face.

Inari then told them about father, a man called Kiaza. He had appeared in the country about a year ago. He wasn't Inari's real father but he saved his life one day and they were inseparable ever since. Kiaza had a saying, "When you love something, protect it with both of your arms." He was a man of virtue and everyone looked up to him as a symbol of strength, but then Gato came. Kaiza was one of the few people to rise up against Gato and was captured for it. Gato had Kaiza killed in front of the entire wave country to show them what would happen should they try to oppose him. With the death of the man they considered to be the hero of the wave, all of the people backed down and no one tried to stop Gato from taking over.

After Inari had revealed the truth about what had happened the room fell into silence.

Tazuna and Tsunami were trying to compose themselves against the torrent of emotion that came whenever they thought about Kaiza.

Hinata and Sakura were shocked and close to tears.

Naruto, Shino, and Sasuke showed no emotion, though all three were affected by the story.

Kiba was visibly shocked by the revelation and had nothing to say.

Haku was stunned. She knew that Gato was a worm, but she had no idea just how horrible he was. Just looking around wave country wasn't enough. Gato ruined lives as well as buildings. It sickened Haku to think that she was helping scum like him oppress kind and innocent people.

"Now do you understand? Now do you see how pointless it is to fight a battle you can't win?" Inari asked them accusingly.

"Your right your father did lose the battle, but it's not his fault." Naruto said calmly.

When everyone looked at him in confusion he elaborated.

"Your father was a true hero. He stood up against someone that he knew that he couldn't defeat alone because it was the right thing to do. He died for what he believed in. However, the people of this country did absolutely nothing. You all just watched as he fought alone, hoping that he would do it by himself when you could have helped." Naruto said with an angry look on his face.

"What do you know?! What do you know about how we feel?!" Inari yelled.

"You feel alone." Naruto said camly, thinking about how he was treated in the village.

"You feel like you're useless." Hinata added equally as calm, thinking about her banishment.

"You feel like your whole world is crashing around you." Sasuke added surprisingly, thinking about his clan.

"You may hate yourself." Kakashi said, thinking about Obito.

"You wish that it had never happened." Kurenai said as well, thinking about her parents.

"You may even close yourself off from others." Shino said, thinking about his treatment in the village as well.

"You feel like you will forever be doomed to live in despair." Haku said sadly, thinking about her life in mist before Zabuza found her.

Sakura, Inari, Kiba, Tazuna, and Tsunami looked at the speakers with shock on their faces.

"You aren't the only one who knows what it feels like to lose something precious to you, kid." Naruto said after a moment of silence.

"The difference between us and you is that we continue to fight. We refuse to let what happened to us stop us from doing what's right. The true measure of a person's strength isn't how many times they fall down, but the number of times they rise to their feet and continue on." Naruto said softly.

Inari said nothing; he simply got up and walked to his room.

After he left the room fell into an awkward silence. Most of the ninja, with the exception of Sakura and Kiba were lost in the memories that the conversation had stirred up. Tazuna and Tsunami were looking at their ninja protectors with curiosity on their faces. Finally it was Haku that broke the silence.

"I think that I should get going. It was very nice to meet all of you." She said as she bowed and headed to the door.

"Haku do you think we will meet again?" Naruto asked sadly, truth be told he considered Haku a close friend.

Haku paused. She truly enjoyed being around them as they were some of the most accepting people she had met. She didn't want to fight them, and actually contemplated telling them the truth. However, she was still a tool for Zabuza and wouldn't betray him. All she could do was hope that they survived the fight at the bridge tomorrow.

"I am sure that we will meet again Naruto, but if we don't I want to say that I enjoyed the time I spent with you, Hinata and Shino." She said with a smile as she left.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The next morning came and all of the ninja were readying themselves for a fight.

"Alright, if Gato is going to make a move then today is the day." Kakashi said to the genin.

"Be prepared for anything and watch each other's backs." Kurenai added.

The genin simply nodded their heads in acknowledgment. They all had mixed feelings about what was going to happen.

Kiba was literally jumping with anticipation for a fight.

Sasuke had the same unemotional face he always had, though he too was anxious for a fight.

Shino was concentrating on his insects and making sure that he was prepared for anything.

Hinata was preparing herself for another fight, and was looking at Naruto to see how he was reacting.

Naruto was concentrating on the upcoming fight. He knew that this would be different than before. Someone could die, and he was not going to let that happen. He noticed Hinata's look of concern and gave her a simple smile of confidence.

Sakura was the only one who was slightly afraid. She didn't want to freeze up like last time and become a burden, that's why she had trained so hard the past week. Seeing Naruto stand firm in the face of the demon brothers without flinching put him in a new perceptive in her eyes. He was not afraid to defend those he cared about, even at the risk of his own life. She didn't know if she could say the same.

Kakashi and Kurenai looked at their genin with pride. They all seemed prepared to give their all in the upcoming fight.

"I truly want to thank all of you for doing this." Tsunami said.

"Yeah, you could have canceled this mission after I lied to you, but you decided to stay. Thank you." Tazuna added.

As they were about to move out they were stopped by Inari at the door. He walked up to Naruto and looked him in the eye.

"You really think that my father was a hero?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do. He fought for what he believed in and never gave up." Naruto replied with a soft smile.

"Do you think that I could ever be that strong?" Inari asked sadly.

"Sure you can. You just have to do what your dad said. When you love something protect it with your own two arms." Naruto said.

This brought a small smile to Inari's face. After their argument last night, Inari had done some soul searching. He discovered that Naruto was right. His dad had done all he could but no one else would stand with him. Inari didn't want to stay depressed. In his mind, if the ninja could overcome their pasts then he should be able to as well. He decided then and there that he would take his father's words and live by them.

"Thanks Naruto." Inari said as he moved out of the way.

"Let's go." Kakashi ordered as the teams left towards the bridge.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Are you ready?" Zabua asked his men.

"Hai." The demon brothers and Haku replied.

"Remember to stick to the plan." He said as they left their compound and walked toward the bridge.

Haku was thinking about the upcoming confrontation.

'So this is it. I will have to fight and possibly kill the only people that I can truly call friends. I hope that I can incapacitate them, or at least give them a swift death.' Haku thought sadly.

The two groups were approaching the bridge for the inevitable confrontation. Though both were oblivious to what Gato was scheming.

"Alright, you know what you got to do?" Gato asked the man in front of him.

"Oh yes, I have everything under control." The man said with an evil smile.

"Good, I think that a little surprise is in order for the bridge builder and Zabuza as well." Gato said with an equally evil smile.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**And here is chapter 9. I wanted to get to the fight this chapter, but life rarely goes the way we want it too. Next chapter will be the battle at the bridge and you can be sure that there will be a twist here or there. Who is the mysterious figure with Gato? What are his plans? Who will live and who will die? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Battle at the bridge**

**Disclamier: I don't own Naruto**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As the teams walked down the path toward the bridge, they were all in silent contemplation. Each one of them was mentally preparing themselves for the fight ahead. They had no idea what was going to come at them, but they were determined to meet it head on and to protect the bridge builder.

Shino suddenly stopped and tilted his head to the side as if he was listening to something.

"Sensei we may have a problem." He said, causing the entire group to pause and give their attention to the Aburame.

"What is it Shino?" Kurenai asked curiously.

"I believe that Inari and Tsunami are in trouble." He replied.

"What?!" Tazuna yelled in fear.

"What are you basing this off of Shino." Kurenai asked.

"The insects that I left on them are releasing pheromones, and I commanded them to do so only if there was a problem." Shino said calmly.

"Why did you put insects on them?" Kiba asked.

"I have insects on all of the people that I want to keep track of." Shino said calmly.

"You have insects on all of us?!" Sakura yelled as she checked herself.

"No only on Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Kurenai-sensei, Tazuna, Inari, And Tsunami." Shino replied.

"This is a moot point at the moment. The real issue is what we are going to do about this." Kakashi said.

"This could be a trap to spilt us up." Kurenai said.

"Possibly but at the same time we can't ignore this." Kakashi said.

"Agreed, Hinata and Shino go and see what the problem is." Kurenai ordered.

"Naruto, you go as well." Kakashi said to the surprise of many.

"Hey what about me? Why does Naruto get to go?" Kiba asked angrily.

"Shino has to go because he is the only one who knows where they are. Hinata needs to go so that she can keep a look out in case that this is a trap. Naruto is going because they may need a heavy hitter to get them out of there quickly. You are staying Kiba because we may need your nose to alert us of any enemies up ahead." Kurenai explained.

As the three genin prepared to leave Naruto looked at Kakashi in confusion. His sudden change of heart was suspicious to the young ninja.

Kakashi met Naruto's gauze with a calm one of his own. He was man enough to admit when he had made a mistake and he wasn't about to let this mistake continue to affect the life of his sensei's son. Naruto belong with Shino and Hinata and he was done standing in their way.

"Go Naruto, go with your team." He said calmly.

Naruto gave him a huge smile of thanks and ran to catch up with Hinata and Shino.

After watching them leave, Kurenai came up behind Kakashi and gave him a small smile of her own.

"Are you finally letting the past go?" She asked.

"I'm working on it." Kakashi replied as they continued on their way.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Shino how far away are we?" Naruto asked as he and his friends raced down the path at full speed.

"From what I can tell, we should be at their location in a few minutes." He replied.

Naruto gave Hinata a look that didn't need deciphering. They had known each other long enough so that she could tell what he wanted her to do.

"Byakugan." She said as she activated her bloodline and scanned ahead.

"Naruto-kun, I can see a few chakra signatures up ahead. They all look a bit low so I don't think that they are enemy shinobi." She said.

"They must be bandits sent to capture or kill Inari and Tsunami." Shino added.

"We have to rescue them." Naruto said as the three increased their speed.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Inari was close to tears as he and his mother were lead down the road by the bandits. There were fifteen of them and they had come when both Inari and Tsunami were returning from the market. Inari had frozen in front of the men and was too scared to move. Tsunami had threatened to kill herself if they harmed her son so they took both of them.

Inari was ashamed at himself. He had hoped to be able to protect his mother but in the end he was simply too afraid to even put up a fight. He felt as if he was a complete failure.

"Hey let them go."

All parties present looked back down the road and saw Naruto, Shino, and Hinata standing there.

"Well if it isn't the punk from a week ago. I still remember what you did to me and now you're going to pay." yelled one of the bandits.

The group split up into five men cells and attempted to separate the three genin.

Naruto, Hinata, and Shino all split up and attacked the men.

Naruto didn't even draw his sword as the five men coming at him were swiftly dispensed with using a few well placed blows.

Hinata had an even easier time with her five as she knocked them all out with a series of kicks.

Shino stood calmly as the five men facing him circled around him.

"You think you can beat us brat?" One yelled at him.

"No, I think that I already have." He said calmly as he adjusted his shades.

"Ha, get him." The bandit said as three of his partners fell unconscious.

"What?" he yelled as he too began to feel weak and fell to his knees. It was then that he noticed the insects that were crawling on his skin.

"Like I said, I have already defeated you." Shino said calmly as the bandit lost consciousness.

After tying them up, Naruto released Tsunami and Inari. Inari kept his head down and began to cry.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"I couldn't do anything. I was so scared of them that when they first showed up I just froze. You must think that I am really pathetic." Inari said.

"No I don't. It's natural to feel fear, but just make sure that you don't let it control you. Besides you're still young, you will get stronger in time, and I'm sure that you will make your mom and dad proud." Naruto said as he placed a comforting hand on Inari's shoulder.

Inari looked up at Naruto but could find no deception in either his voice or eyes.

"Thanks Naruto." Inari said.

"Don't mention it, come on let's get you guys back to your house." Naruto said as they began the journey back to their house.

"I hope that the others are okay." Hinata said with concern.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan, they can take care of themselves." Naruto said giving her a reassuring look.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As Kurenai, Kakashi, Tazuna and the genin came upon the bridge; Kakashi could feel an ominous sensation creeping down his spine.

'I have a bad feeling about this.' He thought.

His fears were realized when they arrived at the bridge only to see that all of the workers were either knocked out or dead.

"What happened here?!" Tazuna yelled as he knelt beside a worker who was still clinging onto consciousness.

"Tazuna t-they came out of nowhere." He said as he coughed up blood.

"Take it easy, who was it?" Tazuna asked softly.

"A-a demon, he was a d-demon." The man said before passing out.

The ninja immediately went on the defensive and prepared themselves for whatever could have caused this. They didn't have to wait long as an unnatural mist settled over the bridge.

"A demon huh, he got that right." Zabuza said as he walked out of the mist with Haku and the demon brothers beside him.

"Zabuza Momochi." Kakashi said.

"Who's that?" Sakura asked, slightly afraid of the strange man who appeared with the enemy ninja from before as well as the shorter ninja with a hunter ninja mask on.

Kakashi then told them about Zabuza Momochi. He had come from the Hidden Mist village and was one of the seven swordsmen of the Mist village. As a child he had slaughtered an entire class of graduating ninja. He was said to be a master of the silent killing technique and could kill a person so swiftly and silently that they wouldn't become aware that they had died until they were in the afterlife. He was known as the "Demon of the Mist Village".

The genin were shaken when they had heard this and were reacting differently.

Sakura was visibly shaking with fear at the prospect of fighting this man.

Kiba had lost his initial confidence and was now trying to compose himself.

Sasuke showed no outward sign that he was affected by this news, but internally he was as shaken as Sakura.

All three of the genin were facing their first jonin level enemy and the fact that he was a particularly deadly one didn't help them at all.

"I am flattered that you know so much about me, Kakashi Hatake also known as the Copy-Cat ninja." Zabuza said.

"You, however, I don't know. Just who are you?" Zabuza asked looking at Kurenai.

"My name is Kurenai Yuhi." Kurenai said as she slipped further into her combat stance.

"Thank you, I make it a habit to know the names of the ninja that I have killed." Zabuza said as he released a large amount of killing intent toward them.

Kakashi and Kurenai, as veteran shinobi, were not affected. The genin, however, were nearly brought to their knees by the amount of killing intent sent their way.

"Stand firm. Kurenai and I will not let anything happen to you." Kakashi said to them commandingly.

"Very big words Kakashi." Zabuza said as he pulled out his sword and slipped into his kenjutsu stance.

"Kurenai, I will take Zabuza, you take the demon brothers, and Sasuke and Kiba take the fake hunter ninja, Sakura you protect Tazuna." Kakashi said.

"Roger" they all yelled.

"Let's go somewhere private." Zabuza said as he fled into the mist with Kakashi close behind.

Kurenai walked up to the demon brothers and prepared to fight.

Sasuke and Kiba nodded to each other and prepared to face off against Haku.

Sakura pulled Tazuna back to that they wouldn't get in the way.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kurenai prepared a genjutsu when the demon brothers fell back into the mist. Kurenai was startled for a moment and prepared herself for their attack. She couldn't pull off a genjutsu unless she could see her opponents, thus she had to wait until they made their move.

Zabuza had not only trained himself, but he had also trained the demon brothers in the past week to be able to fight in the dense mist. Once finding out that Kurenai was a genjutsu expert he trained them so that they wouldn't fall prey to her techniques. The best way was to simply stay in the mist so that she couldn't see them, and then attack when her guard was down.

Kurenai looked all around her for some clue as to the brothers' location, but all she could see was more dense mist.

Suddenly, the demon brothers attacked from behind her. Using her quick reflexes, she was able to dodge their claws and placed them both in a genjutsu. Unfortunately, the brothers dissolved into water once she landed a killing blow to them. Shocked at this, Kurenai placed herself on the defensive as the severity of the situation took hold.

'This isn't good. I can't tell where they are, nor can I tell the difference between a clone and the real thing. I can't afford to waste chakra on clones, but at the same time I need to take them out quickly before they can scratch me with those poison claws of theirs.' She thought grimly.

Suddenly she had to dodge shuriken thrown at her and then she barely avoided an attack by the brothers again. Once again, however, when she attacked them they turned into water and dispersed.

If things continued as they were then she would eventually run out of chakra, or fatigue would set in and she would be caught by their poison claws. Things were not looking good for Kurenai.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Sauske and Kiba were looking at the strange ninja in front of them warily.

"Just who are you anyway?" Sasuke asked.

Haku for her part simply remained silent.

This infuriated Sasuke as he hated to be ignored.

"Fine then I'll take rip that mask off and make you talk." He said as he ran to punch Haku.

Haku grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder, causing Sasuke to land on his back.

"Hey, we're supposed to be working together. You can't beat this guy alone." Kiba said as Akamaru barked his consent.

Sasuke simply grumbled and went to stand beside Kiba once again.

"Fine, let's get this over with." Sasuke said.

"Let's go Akamaru." Kiba said as he threw a food pill to his dog.

Akamaru ate the pill and his fur suddenly turned a deep red.

"**Man-Beast clone**" Kiba said as Akamaru turned into a perfect copy of Kiba.

"Sasuke we'll hit low, you hit high." Kiba said as he and Akamaru ran toward Haku.

"**Fang over Fang**" Kiba said as he and Akamaru began to spin and formed two tornados that made their way toward Haku.

Haku jumped over the attacks as Sasuke saw his opportunity.

"**Fire style: Fireball Jutsu**" Sasuke said as he unleashed a large fireball at Haku.

'He's in the air so there's no way that he can dodge. **(an. They don't know that Haku is a girl yet.)**

"**Water style: Water geyser jutsu**" Haku said as a large swell of water rose in front of her to intercept the fireball.

"Not bad at all, maybe you will be able to actually hurt me in a few years." She taunted.

This riled up both Kiba and Sasuke, just like she wanted. Haku knew that, working together, they could pose a problem, however, both had weaknesses that she could and would exploit.

"You seem powerful, but your attacks are far too slow to ever hit me." She said to Kiba.

"I'll show you!" He yelled as he and Akamaru once again began to spin and attacked her.

Haku once again jumped over the cyclones and this time threw a few senbon needles into the one containing Akamaru.

Kiba came out of his spin to see that his companion had reverted back to his original state and was covered with needles.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled as he ran to his dog.

"One down." Haku stated calmly.

"I'll make you pay for that!" Kiba yelled as he ran to attack Haku.

Haku dodged Kiba's enraged assault with little effort. She knew that taking out the dog first would cause Kiba to lose his composure and thus make him easier to predict. She grabbed Kiba's arm and pinned it behind his back as she prepared one handed seals.

"**Ice spears jutsu**" she yelled as the water on the bridge instantly turned into ice spears and prepared to impale the Inuzuka.

"**Fireball jutsu**"

Haku released Kiba and dodged the attack sent her way by Sasuke, thus negating her technique and leaving Kiba in the fight.

"Stay back! I'll make her pay for what she's done!" Kiba yelled to Sasuke.

"If I hadn't stepped in then you wouldn't be alive right now." Sasuke said calmly.

Kiba bit his hand to calm himself down. Being a part of the Inuzuka clan had taught him basic pack instincts and the most important one was to never try to take down an opponent by yourself when they were obviously superior to you.

Haku saw that Kiba was regaining his composure.

'Time to try something new.' She thought.

"I must say that I am disappointed. I had hoped that you two would give me a challenge, but it seems that I am just wasting my time." She said calmly as she began to walk away.

"And where do you think that you're going?" Sasuke called after her.

"I'm going to find that blonde ninja that I have heard about, he seems to be better than both of you combined." She said.

Sasuke's yell instantly alerted her that her plan had worked. From what she observed, Sasuke and Naruto seemed to have bad blood between them and Sasuke wanted to appear stronger than his teammate. Couple this with his superiority complex and getting Sasuke to fly off the handle was pathetically simple.

"I'm much stronger that him!" Sasuke yelled as he ran toward Haku's turned back.

'This probably won't end well.' Kiba thought as he ran to back Sasuke up.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kakashi was not doing any better than his teammates. While he had uncovered his sharingan, it was doing him no good in this thick mist.

Zabuza had read Kakashi's file and knew that he possessed the sharingan. While he wasn't exactly sure as to how it worked he did know what it could do. It could copy any ninjutsu, genjtsu, or taijutsu that it saw. So in Zabuza's mind, the easiest way to combat this was to simply not be seen. His tactic was the same as the demon brothers; wait in the mist until the perfect time to strike.

Kakashi was constantly on guard. He had no idea when and where Zabuza would strike, but he was going to be prepared.

Suddenly he heard the sound of projectiles coming toward him. Acting quickly he turned and deflected all of them with ease. However, these were just a distraction as he found himself attacked from all sides by water clones. He quickly dispersed them and once again he was left alone in the mist.

'This isn't getting me anywhere. I need to draw him out somehow.' Kakashi thought.

"**Water style: Water Dragon jutsu**"

Kakashi was ripped out of his thoughts when he saw a huge dragon of water coming directly for him. He dodged it, barely, but was unable to avoid the kick to the back that Zabuza had landed when he came up behind him. Kakashi turned in mid air and threw a kunai at Zabuza. However this was another clone and it simply turned into water once hit.

Once again Kakashi found himself surrounded by Zabuza clones. There was at least twenty and they all attacked at once. Kakashi defeated the first few quickly but he did develop a few wounds before he was able to defeat the rest. He was now standing in a puddle of water from all of the clones he had dispersed and he tried to walk away until he realized that he couldn't move his feet.

"What?" he said as Zabuza came up behind him.

"You fell for it. **Water Prison Jutsu**." He said as all of the water on the bridge surrounded Kakashi in a dome of water.

"How?" he asked.

"Simple, I knew that you would be able to defeat all of my clones and that you would dodge my water dragon technique. They were just tools so that I could get more water onto the bridge. I really must thank you for being so predictable." Zabuza said.

'This is not good!' Kakashi thought.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kurenai was beginning to breathe hard. The brothers' constant attacks were starting to wear her down.

'I need to do something and I need to do it now.' She thought.

Suddenly another set of brothers came at her. She dodged their strikes and defeated them only for them to turn into water. Kurenai turned and once again put herself on the defensive, except this time she made a key error. The puddle that was left after the last set of clones were defeated reformed itself into a single brother and he attacked.

Kurenia was able to avoid getting impaled in the back, but she instantly put her hand on her upper arm as blood began to seep out. She destroyed the single clone but then she fell to her knees.

The demon brothers were hoping that their double clone tactic would work and with Kurenai seemingly on her knees with a wound on her arm, it seemed that it had.

The brothers waited a few minutes to let the poison that was coursing through her work before they walked toward her limp form. They were low on chakra from the constant assault and were glad that she had let her guard down.

"It seems that we win." One of the brothers stated.

"Yes, it is too bad that we must kill one so beautiful, but orders are orders." The other replied as they made ready to impale Kurenai through her back and end her life.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haku looked at the two genin in front of her with little to no emotion. She was actually happy that they were the ones she had to fight. If she had gone up against Naruto, Hinata, or Shino then she knew that she would have not only had a much harder time fighting them physically, but emotionally as well.

'I am very glad that they aren't here, maybe we can eliminate the bridge builder and be off before they come.' Haku thought hopefully. She didn't think that she would be able to raise a hand against her first real friends.

She had no problem, however, raising a hand against Sasuke and Kiba. Kiba wasn't too bad, but he had been too pushy with her last night trying to impress her. She was actually enjoying attacking Sasuke as she didn't like the way he treated her friends.

Both were currently on the ground panting with exhaustion inside her crystal mirrors. They had attacked her, but had only ended up being caught in her ultimate jutsu. Her crystal mirrors were impossible to escape from and even their repeated attempts to break her mirrors with fireballs and the fang over fang had been for naught. She had easily subdued them with a few well placed senbon needles and was currently debating wither she should kill them or not.

If she were to kill Sauske then she would be doing a service to her friends, in her opinion. Kiba wasn't bad, but he too stood her the way of her friend's happiness. Maybe once she killed them then her friends could be on the same team which would make them all happy. As she debated this she noticed that both Kiba and Sasuke had risen to their feet.

"Why do you persist in fighting? You have no chance of victory." She said calmly.

"I'm not giving up." Kiba said, panting.

"There's no way that I will lose to you, I am an Uchiha and I can't be defeated by the likes of you." Sasuke said angrily.

This caused a rush of anger to spread through Haku and she swiftly threw a few senbon into them both.

Kiba fell to the ground in pain. Haku's last needles had been aimed at his legs. She knew that his attacks relied predominantly upon using his legs so she incapacitated them, effectively taking him out of the fight. She had decided to let him live; Sasuke, however, was in for a world of pain and in her opinion, death.

Sasuke saw Kiba fall with mixed emotions. Kiba may have been loud and annoying, but he was interesting to compete against. Maybe if they had been on teams initially then they could have formed a rivalry, but Naruto was the one that Sasuke needed to surpass and defeat.

Sasuke came out of his thoughts when he was hit from all sides by senbon needles.

"I am getting bored. If you are so great Uchiha then please show me your sharingan. Show me what makes you superior to everyone else." Haku said condescendingly.

Sasuke growled in anger. He refused to be looked down upon by this ninja. He made his way to his feet and tried to pinpoint her position. He was distressed to find that he could not find out exactly where she was, but he noticed that she wasn't as fast as she first seemed.

'I can almost see her.' He thought.

Haku noticed that her chakra was running slightly low. It seemed that she had taken too much time with them and so she decided to end it. She threw a few senbon, but this time they were aimed at Sasuke's vitals spots.

Saskue saw them coming toward him and somehow instinctively knew that these were meant to end his life. The prospect that he was about to die left Sasuke with a strange feeling; he could remember the last time that he had this feeling. It was the night that his entire clan was slaughtered with him being the only survivor. He remembered looking at his brother and feeling the cold sensation of fear grab his heart and squeeze. He had run then; he had run away screaming that he didn't want to die. His brother had caught him, however, and nearly given him a mental breakdown by putting him in the Tsukuyomi. Sasuke was forced to watch for seventy two hours as his entire clan was killed over and over again. After that Sasuke had hardened his heart and swore to kill his brother for what he had done.

'I can't die here. I can't die before I kill him. I am an avenger!' Sasuke thought.

Suddenly the senbon seemed to slow down. He pulled out a kunai and blocked them all.

'How did he do that?' Haku thought as she observed him closely. Nothing seemed different until he raised his head and she saw his eyes.

'So he has awakened the Sharingan.' She thought as she gazed into the bloodline of the Uchiha.

'What just happened? How was I able to see them so clearly?' Sasuke thought.

"I see that you have awakened your sharingan." Haku said calmly.

'Sharingan! At last, I finally did it!' Sasuke thought with elation.

"With this I will finally defeat you and surpass that idiot Naruto." Sauke said confidently.

"Oh? Well then, let's just see how impressive that sharingan can be." Haku said.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Zabuza looked at the trapped Kakashi with disappointment.

"I was hoping for a better fight Kakashi." He said as he pulled his sword out and struck through the cage and Kakashi as well.

Suddenly Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What!" Zabuza yelled.

"**Summoning jutsu**!"

Dogs of every size suddenly erupted from the ground and bite into Zabuza's legs, arms, and back, effectively immobilizing him.

Kakashi appeared in front of Zabuza with a casual look on his face.

"How?" Zaubza asked.

"As you said, it was simple. This mist is so thick that you must have been as blind as me, thus you relied on your silent killing style to track my movements. Keeping this in mind, I waited until the last moment to replace myself with a shadow clone, thus luring you out." Kakashi said as he went through a few hand signs.

"And now Zabuza, it's time to meet your future, death." Kakashi said as the right hand was encased in lighting. "Meet my original jutsu the **Lighting Blade**"

Kakashi took position and rushed toward Zabuza, aiming for his heart.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The demon brothers plunged their claws into Kurenai's still form. However, instead of blood, her body dispersed into a shower of leaves.

"What!" The brothers yelled simultaneously.

Suddenly roots began to grow and wrap around them until they were both stuck in the trunk of a tree.

"**Ninja art: Tree binding Jutsu**." Kurenai said as she appeared in the trunk above them with a kunai in her hands.

"But we saw you get cut by the claw." One of the brothers said.

"You saw what I wanted you to see. When I turned my back I cut my hand and wait until you attacked from my blind spot, then I simply wait until the last moment to dodge and placed my hand on my shoulder, making you both think that you had landed a blow and that the poison was in my system." Kurenai said.

"Now it's over." She said.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haku walked away from the still forms of Kiba and Sasuke. While it had been more difficult with the sharingan present, she was still able to take out the Uchiha.

She looked to see how the others were doing and was distressed to see that Zabuza and the demon brothers were captured and about to die. She prepared to rush to their aid when she heard the voice of someone she didn't want to face.

"Hold it right there." Naruto said.

Haku turned around to be faced with Naruto, Shino, and Hinata.

'Not now, please not now.' She thought desperately.

"Hinata-chan take a look at Kiba and Sasuke and take them over to Sakura." Naruto said.

Hinata nodded her consent and ran to the downed shinobi.

Naruto and Shino prepared themselves to fight, but both noticed that their opponent was making no move to defend herself.

'How can I fight them?' Haku thought with distress. These were her friends she couldn't fight them, but at the same time she couldn't leave Zabuza and the brothers to die. Haku shook herself out of her thoughts when Naruto rushed her. She backed away from him and began to run.

'What the heck?' Naruto thought in confusion. He looked at Shino but noticed that his friend seemed upset about something.

"What is it Shino?" Naruto asked.

Shino didn't reply but Naruto could tell that his friend knew something, and that he was distressed over whatever it was that he knew.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haku ran toward Zabuza, but she could see that she would be too late to save her master. She couldn't bring herself to face her friends so she thought that she could save Zabuza and the brothers and maybe Zabuza would call off the mission.

Suddenly she was stopped in her tracks as she felt her arms and legs become restricted. She looked and saw that snakes were wrapped tightly around her limbs. She looked back to see that the snakes were coming from the sleeves of Naruto's trench coat.

"Where do you think you're going?" Naruto asked.

Haku didn't answer. She lowered her head in sadness when she realized that not only would she be unable to save Zabuza, but her secret was about to be found out and then she would lose her friends as well.

Shino walked around her and prepared to take off her mask, though she could see a hesitation in his hands. It seemed that Shino was afraid of seeing who was behind the mask as he didn't want his fears to be realized.

"Is that you Haku?" Shino said softly enough that only they could hear.

Haku said nothing, but she felt the tears beginning to fall from her eyes, to her his voice sounded very sad.

As Shino prepared himself to pull off the mask, Kakashi rushed to kill Zabuza, and Kurenai prepared to end the brothers' lives.

Suddenly a kunai with an explosive tag landed between each of them. All present parties could only widen their eyes as the explosive tags went off.

Naruto was thrown back but he rose quickly to see what had happened. Zabuza, Kakashi, Kurenai, the brothers, Shino, and Haku were all caught in the separate explosions and were unmoving.

"Well that's one way to go out with a bang."

Naruto looked toward the owner of the voice and saw Gato with a large force of bandits in front of him.

"Gato!" Naruto yelled.

"That's me kid, now step out of the way so the bridge builder and I can have a personal talk." Gato said with an evil smile on his face.

"Gato allow me to finish this genin." Said a man win a cloak as he walked in front of the group.

"Fine kill the brat and any survivors." Gato said.

"With pleasure." The figure said as he removed his cloak.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**And here's chapter 10. Sorry that it took so long, but I hope that this chapter made up for it. Yes I am evil for putting a cliffhanger here, but it was too tempting to pass up. Don't worry the next chapter will be the conclusion of the wave arc. Who is still alive? Who is the mysterious figure? How will Naruto face this large force alone? That is a secret! Till next time Kyuubi123 out.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Disclamier: I don't own Naruto**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto stared at the figure in front of him with an anxious feeling. If this person was a high level shinobi then he knew that he would be in trouble. With Kakashi and Kurenai down for the count, Hinata tending to the others, and Sakura protecting the bridge builder, he was the only available ninja to stop Gato and his thugs.

The figure removed his cloak to reveal a man with short brown hair, two umbrellas behind his back, gray leg warmers, a blue body suit with no sleeves, and a mist head band around his forehead.

"Just who are you anyway?" Naruto asked as he slipped into his taijutsu stance.

"Oh, you don't me? I'm insulted. My name is Aoi one of the best ninja to come out of konoha." He said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Never heard of you." Naruto said bluntly.

"You little brat!" He yelled as he began to form hand signs.

"**Fire ball jutsu**" he yelled, releasing the attack at Naruto.

Naruto dodged to the side to avoid the attack. Unfortunately, he underestimated Aoi's speed as he was suddenly kicked in the side and sent tumbling back.

"Nice reflexes kid, but that won't save you." He said.

Naruto stood on his feet and eyed the ninja in front of him carefully.

'He talks big, but he's nowhere near as strong as Kakashi-sensei or Kurenai-sensei.' He thought.

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto didn't take his eyes off of Aoi as Hinata came up beside him.

"Hinata-chan, how are Sasuke and Kiba?" he asked.

"They are alive, but they aren't going to be fighting for a while." She said.

"Then I guess it's up to the two of us." Naruto said as Hinata readied herself.

"It's up the three of us." Shino said as he walked up calmly beside his friends.

"Shino! I thought you were caught in the explosion." Naruto said with surprise.

"I would have been if not for Haku." Shino said.

"Haku? What does she have to do with any of this?" Hinata asked her friend.

Shino remained silent as Naruto looked toward the area that Shino had come from. Haku was still lying unconscious and her mask had been blown off in the explosion.

'Haku was the enemy ninja?! Does this mean that she was only pretending to be our friend?' Naruto thought with a mixture of anger and betrayal. Naruto had trusted Haku fully, and this was rare as Naruto was not one to give his trust fully to others. Truth be told he still didn't fully trust Sasuke or Sakura and they were his teammates. That Haku had used that trust against him was a serious blow to Naruto.

"Don't be so quick to judge Naruto." Shino said. He had known Naruto long enough to be able to guess how Haku's identity would affect him and wanted to stop Naruto from jumping to any conclusions.

"What so you mean?! She's the enemy; she obviously was just pretending to be our friend so that she could take advantage of us later." Naruto said with convection.

"If not for her then I would either be unconscious or dead." Shino said calmly.

"What?" Naruto replied in confusion.

"Before the explosion went off she was able to project a wall of ice in front of me. This stopped the explosion form causing me any real damage. Also she failed to put one up for herself." Shino said.

"Um, can't this wait until later?" Hinata said as she warily watched Aoi.

Naruto was still confused but knew Hinata had a point. It was very dangerous to let your guard down with distractions.

"Enough already!" Gato yelled. "Aoi you go and get the bridge builder, men you take on the brats, there's no way that they can guard him and defend themselves."

"Not so fast!" yelled a voice, causing all present parties to look at the other end of the bridge.

There stood Inari and a majority of the villagers of Wave.

"We aren't afraid of you anymore Gato. This is our home and we will defend it." He said as he took a crossbow and armed an arrow.

"How dare you people try to oppose me. I'll kill you all for this." Gato said in rage.

"Give it up Gato, you've lost." Kurenai said as she shakily made her way to her feet.

"Kurenai-sensei are you okay?" Naruto asked.

"I'm a little weak, but I can still fight. It's a good thing that I was able to avoid most of the explosion." She said confidently, though her breath was slightly labored.

"More and more pests keep coming. Everyone attack!" Gato yelled as the thugs began to advance.

"Team form up!" Kurenai commanded.

Naruto, Shino, and Hinata all appeared beside Kurenai in formation. There was no hesitation from the months of separation. When Kurenai had given the order their bodies went on the instinct that they had developed from training with one another for so long.

"Alright, Aoi is mine. You three protect the villagers with everything that you have, understood?" Kurenai said.

"Hai sensei." All three confirmed.

"Move out!" Kurenai ordered as she leapt at Aoi.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kakashi slowly regained consciousness. He and Zabuza had taken the worst of the explosion sent their way for two reasons. Zabuza was confined and couldn't do anything to dodge or even brace himself, and Kakashi was moving at full speed to connect with the lighting blade. He simply had no time to disengage and dodge the attack. Kakashi effectively ran into the explosion.

Kakashi couldn't move very well but he could lift his head to see what had taken place. He could see Zabuza and the demon brothers were still down, Kurenai and Shino were no longer present, but he was missing someone.

'Where is that hunter ninja?' Kakashi thought as he tried to rise to his feet.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." Haku said as she limped up behind him.

"Haku, so you were working for Zabuza." Kakashi said calmly.

"I am Zabuza's tool and servant." She said as she lowered herself and began to tend for his wounds.

"Then why are you helping me?" Kakashi said suspiciously.

"I don't want to fight my friends, and I know that Naruto would be upset if you died. I am hoping that Zabuza-sama will cease his attack when he learns of what happened." Haku replied as she gave Kakashi some of the medicine she kept on her.

"Don't worry about that Haku." Zabuza said as he lifted himself onto his knees.

"Zabuza-sama I have failed you." Haku said, lowering her head.

"I said don't worry about it. I'm tired of Gato and his crap. I'll leave the bridge builder alone, Kakahsi." Zabuza said as he lowered himself onto his back.

Haku was delighted to hear this and went to treat Zabuza.

'Well that's one less problem to worry about.' Kakashi thought as he lowered his headband over the sharingan and looked to where to action was taking place. He was too low on chakra to be of any more use and the explosion had hurt him pretty bad. He was now only a spectator to the coming battle.

He saw Kurenai fighting a ninja that was vaguely familiar to him. She seemed to be holding up alright, but her injuries were beginning to slow her down.

Kakashi then looked toward the genin and his eye widened. To say that Kakashi was surprised by what he saw would have been a gross understatement. He was shocked beyond words.

Naruto, Shino, and Hinata were acting and moving as one against a much larger attack force. There had to be at least fifty of the thugs and yet they were dropping like flies. The team work the three genin were showing went beyond anything that Kakashi had ever seen. Where ever one attacked, another was there to defend. The moved like a well oiled machine and were taking out the thugs one by one.

'If that isn't proof that they should be together, than I don't know what is.' He thought with wonder.

More thugs ran to join the fight, but none could land a single blow on the three genin. There was no hesitation, no communication, nothing that showed that the three were needed to be told where to go or what to do. It was as if they were so familiar with each other that there was no need for words. Each knew what to do and where to go and was always prepared for what came their way.

'Well, it looks like the teams are going to be changed.' Kakashi thought as he lay back down. For some reason the thought didn't sadden him, in fact, a small smile appeared on his face.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kurenai was panting as she looked at Aoi. On any other day, she would be able to defeat him without a great effort. He was strong, but not at her level. Unfortunately, the battle with the demon brothers had drained her of a good amount of her chakra, and the explosion had not left her as unscathed as she had lead Naruto to believe.

"You can't keep this up." Aoi said with an arrogant smile. "Why don't you simply step aside and I may spare you, it would be such a shame to kill one so beautiful."

"I'd rather not." She said as she once again prepared for his attack.

Aoi sighed. "Oh well can't say that I didn't try."

Aoi rushed toward Kurenai and once again engaged her in taijutsu. Although she was a genjutsu expert, Kurenai was still a jonin and fought back impressively. She was able to land a solid hit on him, only for him to turn into water.

'What?' she thought as she was kicked in the side.

"You look surprised. Don't tell me that you don't know who I am." He said

"Should I?" Kurenai asked on her knees, as she fought to catch her breath.

'If I can keep him talking then I should be able to gather enough chakra for a high level genjutsu. As low as my chakra is though, I will only have one shot.' She thought.

"My name is Aoi and I used to be a ninja of the leaf village. I left and eventually found myself in the mist village. Is it really that surprising that I know the water clone technique?" he asked as he walked toward her.

Kurenai kept her head down and waited until he was close to her. She had been playing the part of the wounded opponent, hoping that he would make the mistake of getting too close.

"I'll ask again, step aside and I may even let you live, after we have some fun first of course." He said with a sick smile on his face.

Kurenai saw red. If there was one thing she hated, it was people like him who would take advantage of others in the most extreme and perverse way.

"**Tree binding jutsu**!" she yelled as she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Vines began to wrap around Aoi and before he could react he was caught in her genjutsu.

"Time to end this." Kurenai said as she took a kunai and rammed it into his chest.

Aoi smiled as he once again turned into water.

Kurenai had no time to dwell upon this before she felt something pierce her shoulder. She screamed as she felt waves of electricity flow through her body.

As she fell to the ground Aoi looked at her and her confused stare.

"You should never take your eyes off of an opponent." He said as he calmly walked in front of her and showed her what she had been hit by.

In Aoi's hands was a sword, but unlike regular swords the blade was pure electricity. This was the rajin, a legendary sword that belonged to the second Hokage.

"It's too bad that you didn't know me, if you did then maybe you would have known that I am the one who took the rajin before leaving Konoha." Aoi said as he raised it above his head.

"But no more words are necessary. As you said, time to end this." He said as he prepared to kill her.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kurenai's plight didn't go unnoticed.

"Naruto-kun Kurenai-sensei needs help now!" Hinata said as she dodged another attack and sent the attacker sprawling to the ground.

Naruto looked at where their sensei was and his eyes widened in fear. Currently they had taken out roughly half of Gato's thugs and the others were not so eager to fight. However, this didn't mean that they wouldn't attack if he were to leave.

'What do I do? If I leave now then Hinata and Shino would be in trouble, but I can't let Kurenai-sensei die.' He thought before the solution came to him.

"**Shadow clone jutsu**!" he yelled as dozens of replicas appeared.

The clones attacked the remaining thugs, which threw them into disarray. Hinata and Shino were quick to attack while their attention was on the clones. Naruto ran full speed toward his fallen sensei.

'Hold on sensei.' Naruto thought as he pushed himself to make it on time.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Any last words?" Aoi asked as he gazed at Kurenai.

Kurenai remained silent. If she was going to die then she wouldn't give him the satisfaction he sought.

"Fine then, die!" he yelled as he swung the rajin downward.

Kurenai closed her eyes but the pain of death never arrived. She opened her eyes to see that the rajin had been stopped by Naruto's blade.

"Don't you dare try and hurt my sensei!" Naruto said as he threw Aoi back in an impressive show of strength.

"You again? Didn't you learn your lesson last time brat?" Aoi asked with a bit of annoyance.

Naruto didn't reply. He simply prepared himself for the coming battle.

"Fine then, I'll kill you and then your sensei." Aoi said as he attacked.

Naruto and Aoi exchanged sword strikes thought neither of them could take an advantage. Aoi was used to relaying on the rajin's strength, and thus he never learned a formal kenjutsu style. Naruto was still barely proficient with his kenjutsu style, thus he couldn't take advantage of Aoi's mistake.

"**Shadow clone jutsu**!" Naruto yelled as dozens of clones appeared.

"You'll have to do better that that." Aoi said as he took the umbrellas from behind his back and threw them into the air.

"**Ninja art: Needle Storm**" He yelled as the umbrellas began to spin and released dozens of needles at Naruto and his clones.

All of the clones were dispersed and Naruto had to yank a few needles that had hit him out of his skin.

Aoi was beginning to lose his patience with Naruto. He struck back to back blows trying to break the dragon sword, but to no avail.

'What sort of blade is this that can fend off the rajin?' he thought.

"So what's with the glowing sword?" Naruto asked as he backed off to try and find an opening.

"Do you know what this sword is brat? This is the rajin, one of the most legendary swords in the world." He said with scorn.

"That puny piece of scrap in your hand is no match for this blade!" He yelled.

Suddenly Naruto felt his sword pulse. He looked at it and saw a golden white glow beginning to wrap around it.

'What was that?' Naruto thought. If he had to give it a name, it felt as if his sword was insulted by what Aoi had said.

Naruto's confusion increased when he felt a wave of power flow from his sword and into him. This power left a feeling of warmth all throughout him and unbeknownst to him, his eyes had taken on a golden glow to him.

"You shouldn't have said that." Naruto said with smirk on his face, as he raised the golden dragon sword above his head in a two handed grip.

"Oh? And why's that?" Aoi asked curiously.

"Because my sword doesn't like to be insulted!" Naruto yelled as he swung his sword in a downward slash.

"**Dragon Strike**!"

Suddenly a wave of golden energy released from the sword and took the form of a serpentine dragon as he flew in Aoi's direction.

Aoi brought the rajin up to hopefully block the blast. However, once it made contact the rajin began to shake before the blade cracked and eventually shattered. The dragon shaped blast continued on and hit Aoi, causing a massive explosion to rock the entire bridge.

Naruto fell to his knees in exhaustion. He had no idea what that attack was but it left him feeling completely drained. He looked at the dragon sword but the glow had faded.

'What was that?' Naruto thought as he shakily brought himself to his feet and walked back to Kurenai. He had no idea that his sword could do something like that. All he knew was that when Aoi had insulted his sword he felt a wave of anger come from his blade and it seemed to supply him with the necessary power to use that technique.

Naruto helped Kurenai to her feet and they began to walk back toward their comrades.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haku watched as Naruto defeated Aoi in wonder.

'Naruto, just how powerful are you?' she thought as she continued to help Zabuza. The demon brothers had regained consciousness but neither were in any shape to fight for a while.

"That's enough Haku." Zabuza said as he moved into a sitting position.

Haku backed away and resumed watching as Naruto rejoined his team and the thugs began to back away from the genin group. Their numbers had been cut down to a third of their original strength and they wanted no more part of the group.

Haku felt her heart ache as Naruto was reunited with his friends. They all seemed happy to be okay and she knew that things would change once Naruto and Hinata found out the truth about her. She didn't want to lose them as friends but she also couldn't expect them to instantly forgive her either.

'Then again, Shino knew it was me but he wasn't mad, he was sad.' Haku thought with some hope.

"Well well look who's trying to squirm away." Zabuza said breaking Haku out of her thoughts.

Haku looked at the end of the bridge to see that Gato was trying to leave before the ninja got to him. Haku felt rage build up inside her. It was all because of Gato that the Wave country was in such poverty, it was because of him that Zabuza and the brothers had to risk their lives and nearly die. Haku readied herself to take him down when the brothers stood.

"Allow us Zabuza-sama." One said.

"Wait a minute, you two are in no condition to go after him, and those thugs could still kill you." Haku said trying to stop them.

"She's right. If anyone's going to die going after that sorry excuse for slime then it's me. I'm tired of running everyday and dodging hunter ninja anyway. At least this way I'll die fighting." Zabuza said as he tried to rise.

"Zabuza-sama you are in no shape to move at all!" Haku said as she grabbed him and lowered him to the ground.

"We will clear the way for you." One of the brothers said as they turned to leave.

"Wait!" Haku yelled as they began to run toward Gato, Zabuza grabbed her and stopped her from interfering.

"Respect their sacrifice Haku, if you were to go now then there is a chance that you could be hurt or killed. They are sacrificing themselves for us. Respect their sacrifice." Zabuza said quietly.

The demon brothers fought honorably and reduced the remaining thugs down to a half dozen before they succumbed to the injuries they received. Haku, with tears in her eyes, killed the remaining men swiftly and grabbed Gato before he could run away.

"Let me go! I can give you anything you want." Gato pleaded.

Haku looked at the bodies of the demon brothers and then at Naruto's group. She could see betrayal and anger in Naruto and Hinata's eyes and knew that they may never forgive her for her deception.

"No you can't." Haku said sadly as she dragged him back toward Naruto's team.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto looked at Haku as she dragged Gato back to them. He was feeling a mixture of emotions running through him at this point but anger was at the top of the list.

"Why are you bringing him back? Isn't he your employer?" Naruto asked harshly.

Haku flinched at his accusation but simply lowered her head.

"Well, answer me Haku! Isn't he the one who paid you to spy on us, to act like you were our friend, to gain our trust just to stab us in the back?!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed Haku by her shirt and lifted her up.

Haku remained silent, she knew that they would hate her and couldn't bear to look at them and see the hatred, anger, and betrayal in their eyes.

"Answer me!" Naruto yelled as tears began to fall from his eyes. When he thought about what Haku had done to them it felt like he was being stabbed in the heart. He had trusted Haku. He had considered her to be one of his friends.

"Stop it Naruto." Shino said firmly as he grabbed Naruto's hand.

"Let go Shino! She was pretending the whole time. She doesn't care about any of us." Naruto said as he gave his friend a hard stare.

"That's not true." Haku said softly.

"You three were the best and only friends I have ever had. Every day I was with you felt like paradise. You didn't judge one another; you accepted each other and me as well so easily. Even though it was only a week I was eternally grateful for meeting and being with you. I could forget about killing, about running, about anything other than being a normal person when I was around you. Everything I told you about my past was the truth except for one thing." Haku said as she looked up at them.

The utter lack of any emotion in her eyes other than pain and heartache stunned Naruto, Shino, and Hinata, and it caused Naruto to release her.

"I didn't run away from my father, I killed him. My mother and I possessed a bloodline limit and when he found out he killed her in front of me and would have killed me if not for my bloodline activating and killing him. After that I ran away. I was all alone during the winter. I had no food, no home, and no one to care for me. That is until I met Zabuza-sama. He took me in. He gave me shelter. He gave me a purpose to live. He is my precious person and he asked me to learn what I could about you. The more I learned, the more I grew close to you. Please believe me when I say that I never wanted to hurt you." Haku said.

Naruto was stunned, when he looked in Haku's eyes he saw the exact same hopelessness and loneliness that he himself had experienced before meeting his precious people. He could understand why Haku was so close to Zabuza as well as why she followed him. Truth be told, if Zabuza had found and taken in Naruto before he met any of his other precious people then he could have been in the exact position that Haku was in.

Hinata was moved to tears as well. She wondered what she would have done if her father decided to kill her instead of banishing her as he had done. She felt closer to Haku after learning the whole truth about her past and couldn't find it in herself to continue to be upset.

Shino was completely silent, but on the inside he felt connected with Haku. Both of them were ridiculed for their bloodlines, and he could imagine what it would be like if he had grown up in the mist village instead of her. Shino placed his hand on Haku's shoulder to comfort her.

"It's okay Haku, we understand and we forgive you." He said in a tone that could have been considered kind and caring if one were to listen close enough.

"He's right, I'm sorry for what I said Haku. It's just with my past, I find it hard to trust people and when I thought that one of the people I do trust had betrayed me it hurt more than any wound could." Naruto said sincerely.

"I hold no grudge against you either Haku. I feel closer to you as a matter of fact after learning about your past." Hinata agreed.

Haku was moved beyond words.

'They still accept me? I can't believe it!' She thought with joy.

Kurenai smiled at the scene before her. She could tell that Haku was sincere in her motives and that going through all of this was actually going to make all four of them closer and strengthen their bonds. She saw Zabuza limping toward them with Kakashi in tow. Both looked ready to drop where they stood and seemed to be helping each other stand. When Kurenai looked at him questionably, he just nodded his consent that Zabuza was alright and not going to attack anymore.

"Well I'm glad that's over." Kakashi said tiredly.

"Not completely Kakashi. What are you going to do with him?" Zabuza said gesturing at Gato.

Everyone present looked at the man that Haku had dropped and saw that had tried to slink away when no one was watching.

Haku threw senbon in his legs to keep him from running.

Shino sent insects to completely encase him and bring him back to them, that a few hundred of them bit him was an added bonus.

Hinata jabbed him a few times to cut off the circulation to his arms.

Kurenai placed him in a genjutsu that had him relive his worst nightmare continually.

Naruto had a few serpents bite him and inject a paralyzing toxin.

"Anyone else want to add something?" Kakashi asked.

"Do you want him to live?" Zabuza asked.

"Yes." Kurenai said

"Then no." he replied

"Come on let's go back." Naruto said as they all began to head back to where the villagers were cheering for their heroes.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

A week had passed and everything was slowly winding down to a close. The bridge was already finished but a few damages had to be fixed, especially the damaged caused by Naruto's dragon strike. Gato was now a prisoner of the Wave country and all of his money was given to them. He currently spent his days doing every demining and painful job they could think of. The ninja all were recuperating from the long and hard fought victory differently.

Kakashi normally lay around reading his Icha Icha story.

Kurenai was teaching Hinata and Sakura some genjutsu.

Kiba couldn't really do much until he regained all of the movement back in his legs, which Haku said would take about a whole week. Akamaru was fine however as Haku said that she didn't like hurting animals since she had a pet bunny rabbit.

Naruto was being taught kenjutsu by Zabuza. The villagers forgave Zabuza for his part in the battle when they found out that it was because of him and his ninjas that they were able to capture Gato.

Sasuke spent most of his time alone, thinking on the past battle. One day he went to the site of the battle and when he came back he was even more reserved than ever, though no one could figure out why.

Shino and Haku spent a lot of time together though neither really thought much about it. They were very comfortable around each other and Haku seemed to one of the only people who could make Shino speak more than one sentence at a time.

This was the final day before they left in the morning back to Konoha and the genin were finishing up their daily past times.

Naruto had just finished with Zabuza when Sakura came up to him timidly.

"Hey Naruto can I talk to you?" She asked shyly.

"That depends, are you going to insult me, Hinata, Shino, or Haku?" Naruto asked with his back turned to her.

Sakura flinched at his tone as well as his statement.

"I deserved that." She said softly.

Naruto gave her a calculating look. It didn't seem that she wanted to start anything so he decided to give her a chance.

"Alright Sakura what did you want to talk about?" Naruto said in a more inviting tone.

Sakura's face brightened at this and she went to stand beside him.

"I want to know more about you Naruto." She said.

"What?" Naruto said clearly confused.

"The day that we were formed as a team you said that we didn't know anything about you, yet we saw fit to judge and ridicule you." Sakura said a bit sadly.

"So what changed?" Naruto asked truly curious and slightly suspicious as to her change of heart.

"When we started this mission I saw the way that you, Hinata, and Shino interacted. You were so relaxed around them. You were so trusting. At first I didn't think anything of it until we were attacked. None of you flinched. You all stayed together and worked perfectly. It started to make me wonder what else there was about you that I didn't know and I want to learn more about you so that I can learn to better myself." Sakura said.

Naruto looked at her for a long moment. Once upon a time he had a crush on her but that was long gone. Still, he could become her friend if she really wanted to change for the better.

"Alright Sakura I'll tell you a little bit about myself." He said as he began to tell her a few things about himself.

He refrained from telling her about the kyuubi or about the mysterious figure that continued to appear to him, but he did tell her about Anko, Iruka, the ramen people, and the Hokage.

After Naruto was done, Sakura felt that she knew him a little better and was happy to say that she felt they could be friends.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Shino and Haku were coming headed back to the house from exploring the forest around the wave country. Shino said that he wanted to look for insects and Haku asked if she could accompany him. He was shocked for a moment that a girl would wantto look for bugs, but he shrugged it off and told her that he wouldn't mind.

As they were headed back Haku suddenly stopped walking.

"What is it?" Shino asked.

"I would like to visit them." Haku said softly.

Shino nodded his head and they took a detour to a cliff overlooking the bridge. It was here that they had buried the demon brothers. To the people of the wave they were just as much heroes as everyone else. Haku looked at them and reminisced about the way the brothers treated her. They were always brotherly toward her and were the ones to get her interested in medicine. Granted they were more focused on poisons, they still helped her whenever they could. She still remembered when they had attacked the remaining thugs to give her a chance to capture Gato, even at the cost of their own lives.

'I will never forget the two of you. Thank you, my brothers.' Haku thought as tears began to flow down her face.

"Are you alright?" Shino asked.

"Yes, it just hurts when you lose someone so close to you. You never truly appreciate them until they are gone. And you never notice how important they are to you until they suddenly aren't there." She said.

Shino nodded his head in understanding as he stood by silently, allowing her to grieve for the brothers.

"Shino." Haku said.

"Yes."

"On the bridge you knew it was me before you took off my mask, how?" She asked.

Shino looked at her for a while, as if he didn't want to reveal the reason. Finally he raised a finger and an insect came off of Haku and landed on it.

"This is how. I place an insect on all those that I consider my friend. If that person is ever in trouble then I will know about it and be able to help them." Shino said calmly, although he was worried that she would take offense to having her privacy invaded.

"So when you came close to me you noticed the insect and knew that it was me." Haku stated as Shino nodded his head in confirmation.

Haku walked up to him and Shino was nervous that she would begin to yell at him until she brought his hand up and looked at the small insect.

"So you considered me your friend and special enough to place an insect on me after only a week?" She asked meeting his eyes.

Her stare made Shino feel very uncomfortable, though he wasn't exactly sure why.

"Y-yes" Shino said. If any of his friends were present, they would have been shocked that Shino had stuttered.

"How long can they stay on someone?" Haku asked, returning her attention to the insect, and seemingly ignoring his stutter and odd behavior.

"About a week or two before they have to return to me to feed on chakra." Shino answered.

"Couldn't they just feed on the chakra of the person they have been placed on?" Haku asked.

"They could but I would never allow them to do that without permission." Shino said.

Haku remained silent for a moment before she channeled chakra into one of her fingers and held it to the insect. The insect leapt onto her finger and began to feed.

"I wouldn't mind if it took some chakra as long as it could stay with me." Haku said softly.

Shino was for the first time in his life stunned beyond words. He had never met a girl who was not only comfortable around insects but would willingly allow them to feed on her.

"You don't mind?" Shino asked with wonder.

"Not at all, it makes me feel as if someone still cares for me." Haku said with a smile as the insect crawled up her arm to disappear in her hair.

Shino stood there looking at Haku for a long moment, trying to decipher the feelings he was developing for her.

"I think we should head back now." Haku said after a while and she turned and began to head back to the house.

Shino stood there for a moment longer just looking at her before he silently began to follow.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

When the morning came, the entire wave country was up and ready to say farewell to their heroes.

"Come and visit us some time!" Tazuna said as he shook their hands.

"We will." Kakahsi said with a smile.

Naruto looked toward Inari and saw that he was crying.

"What are you crying for Inari?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sorry to see you go. You've done so much for me, my family and the whole country." He said.

"Don't worry about it, this isn't goodbye, it's see you later." Naruto said as he placed his hand on Inari's head.

"Thanks Naruto, and just wait because next time I'll be really strong." Inari said with a smile.

"That's right and I'll be training him." Zabuza said as he and Haku came up.

"So you're staying?" Kurenai asked.

"I can't go back to Konoha. I'm a missing ninja and to take me in would be grounds for a war between the leaf and mist villages. I'll stay here for now and help these people rebuild as well as protect them. Who knows maybe I'll be able to make a few of them as tough as me when I start to train them to defend themselves." Zabuza said.

"I'll miss you all dearly." Haku said as she looked at them all, though her gaze remained on Naruto, Hinata and mainly Shino.

"We'll miss you as well Haku." Shino said with a hint of sadness present in his voice.

After looking at the way Haku was acting for a moment Zabuza decided to make the decision he had been struggling with.

"Kakashi, Kurenai, I want you to take Haku back with you." He said.

"What!" Haku yelled. "I won't abandon you."

"You aren't abandoning me Haku. I'm classified as a missing ninja, but you aren't as you were never a registered ninja and you always wore a mask so no hunter ninjas would recognize you. I think Konoha will be able to offer you a bright future." He said.

"I won't do it. I already lost the brothers, I won't loss you as well Zabuza-sama." She said with tears in her eyes.

"Haku I am giving you an order. I order you to go with them." Zabuza said harshly.

Haku looked stricken by his words until he placed his hand on her head, as he had done in the past to comfort her.

"Haku I want you to promise me that you will go with them and make a better life for yourself, you are like a daughter to me and I only want what's best for you." He said in a kinder tone.

Haku simply nodded her head in confirmation and threw her arms around him in a hug.

"I promise Zabuza-tousan." Haku said as she cried into his chest.

"Here's something to remember me by." He said as he handed Haku his sword.

"I can't keep anyway; as someone may spot it and the hunters will come again." He explained.

"We'll be sure to tell everyone that you perished at the bridge Zabuza." Kakashi said.

Haku released the hug and took Zabuza's sword. She turned and stood beside Shino who put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

Zabuza looked back and forth between them but held his tongue.

"Alright, let's go." Kakashi ordered as they all began to leave.

"I'll never forget you tou-san." Haku called back.

"I'll see you again Haku." Zabuza said as he waved goodbye to them.

As the ninja left the people of wave went back to their everyday business except for Zabuza, Tsunami, Inari and Tazuna. They all waited until the Konoha ninja were out of sight.

"You know we need to give this bridge a name." Tsunami said.

"How about the Great Naruto Bridge" Inari said.

"I like it, in memory of the ninja of the ninja who gave us hope again, as well as his team that saved my life. This bridge will forever be known as the Great Naruto Bridge." Tazuna said.

"I like that name." Tsunami said.

Zabuza nodded his head in agreement.

As they all turned to leave, Zabuza stopped and looked at horizon that the ninja had disappeared to.

'Naruto Uzumaki, huh. Why do I have a feeling that I just met a legend in the making?' Zabuza thought as he turned to find what the future held for him in the Wave country.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Finally the wave arc is finished. The chunin exams are coming up now and I can't wait to show you more of what I have in store. What's up with Naruto's sword? Are the teams going to be changed? What surprises do I have in store for you next? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As the teams made their trek back to Konoha, there was a feeling of accomplishment and relaxation between them. For the jonin, their students had performed far beyond what could have been asked or expected of them. For the genin, they had just completed their first mission, and the fact that it was an A rank mission made it all the sweeter.

Naruto was currently talking to Hinata about his sword and how it reacted during the battle.

Kakashi and Kurenai were making light conversation about how they believed their genin were some of the best in years.

Sakura was once again talking to Sasuke, who simply ignored her.

Kiba was talking to Akamaru and sneaking glances at Haku.

Haku and Shino were walking in a comfortable silence with each other.

As the gates came into view, most of the genin present let out a sigh of relief and were thinking about seeing their families again.

Naruto tensed slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Hinata.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" She asked softly.

"Sorry Hinata, it's just that after being in wave for so long and having the people treat us all like heroes, it's hard to come back here and face the villagers again." Naruto said with a small hint of sadness.

Hinata looked at her long time crush with a mixture of sadness and anger. She was sad that Naruto had to go through so much hate from the very people that he was protecting every day that he was alive. She was angry that they couldn't see him like she did. He was kind, gentle, caring, strong, and would willingly put himself in harm's way for those he cared for. He was everything a demon wasn't.

Hinata grabbed his hand as they walked through the gates into the village. Normally, any physical contact between them would be enough to cause her to become hesitant and shy, but she was becoming more confident with herself and she wanted Naruto to know that he wasn't alone.

Naruto was surprised and confused when Hinata held his hand. Nonetheless, Naruto squeezed her hand slightly and willingly accepted the display of comfort.

Kakashi and Kurenai both witnessed the exchange with mixed feelings.

Kurenai was happy that Hinata was becoming more comfortable around Naruto, outside of combat situations.

Kakashi was looking at all of the glares sent Naruto's way with a sigh.

'Minato-sensei, you would be ashamed of the way your son is being treated.' He thought, though he did smile when Hinata grabbed Naruto's hand.

Naruto wasn't the only one to be slightly apprehensive to be in Konoha. Haku had never been in a village since she was a small child and Zabuza found her. Being around so many people made her uneasy and the stares she was receiving for Zabuza's sword made it even worse. She felt a hand grab her's and looked up at Shino. He said nothing but the slight squeeze he gave her hand was enough to calm her down.

The group walked to the Hokage's tower to provide their report, and for a few present, to try and correct a problem made a few months ago.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Sarutobi looked up from his paper work when he heard that Teams 7 and 8 had returned. As they walked in his eyes focused on Naruto, who stared right back without a hint of emotion.

'It seems that he is still upset with me.' Sarutobi thought with a grimace.

His thoughts were interrupted when he laid his eyes on the slightly older looking girl that came in with the group.

"Kakashi, Kurenai, who is this?" Sarutobi asked, looking at the two jonin.

"My name is Haku Momochi." Haku said as she bowed to the old leader.

'Momochi? Where have I heard that before?' Sarutobi thought.

"Maybe you should tell me everything from the beginning." Sarutobi said to the jonin.

After the retelling of the mission, Sarutobi found himself stunned. That these genin would be faced with an A rank mission their first time out of the village and find themselves facing not one but two jonin opponents was amazing. That they not only survived but completed the mission was absolutely astounding. In particular, the description of how Naruto, Hinata, and Shino had worked together to overcome a much larger attack force brought Sarutobi to the conclusion that he was correct earlier when he thought he had made a mistake. Now he _knew_ that he had made a mistake in separating them. Truth be told, if they didn't work so well together then the mission could have been a failure.

"I see." Sarutobi said after hearing everything. He now had an idea of what had happened and had a few questions for the jonin and for Naruto as well. That sword was unlike anything he had ever heard of and he was going to find out where he got it from. But first he needed to finish up with the matter at hand.

"I want to say congratulations to you all. You have performed above and beyond what could be expected of you. To continue on with the mission even after being lied to showed your integrity. To fight against such dangerous opponents and come out victorious showed your strength and ability to work as a team. Now I want you all to take some well deserved time off. Haku I will give you an apartment to stay, but I must ask. Will you become a ninja of Konoha?" Sarutobi asked the young girl.

"I would like that, if you will have me." Haku said with a small smile.

"Very well, normally we would have you start in the academy, but because of the unique circumstances, I will promote you to chunin level." Sarutobi told the girl with a smile of his own.

"Thank you Hokage-sama!" Haku said, giving another bow.

"Think nothing of it. Here is the address to your apartment, and you should take some time off as well." He said as he handed her keys to an apartment and the address.

"Alright, I want Kakashi and Kurenai to wait here for a moment, everyone else can leave." He said as the genin all nodded and left.

After the genin were gone, Sarutobi took his seat and looked at the jonin before him. He had made his decision about the teams and was preparing himself for the argument he believed would follow. He was surprised to see that the two jonin seemed very comfortable around each other. After the teams were created, Kakashi and Kurenai could barely be in the same room together before they were at each other's throats, but now it seemed that they had come to some sort of understanding between each other. Sarutobi sighed, he was sure that what he was about to say would have them arguing between one another again.

"I think that this mission has shown me that a change needs to take place." Sarutobi said looking at them both.

Kurenai had a smile on her face after hearing this, which didn't surprise Sarutobi at all. Kakashi's expression or lack thereof, is what confused Sarutobi. He was sure that Kakashi would object, but Kakashi just nodded his head in agreement with him. Also, Kurenai didn't seem surprised by Kakashi's lack of response.

'What could have happened between them on that mission?' Sarutobi thought in confusion.

"I completely agree Hokage-sama." Kakashi said.

"What?" Sarutobi asked still confused.

"You were right; we did allow our pasts to affect our decisions. Naruto and Kurenai brought this to my attention during the mission. If you could have seen how those three worked together, then you wouldn't be surprised by my willingness to have Naruto join Kurenai on team 8. Without them, Kurenai and I would probably be dead." Kakashi said.

Sarutobi could only chuckle. Only Naruto would be able to make Kakashi see the error of his ways and get through to the jonin. Kakashi was notorious for being late, but few knew the reason behind this. He was always late because he spent hours looking at the memorial stone that held the names of all of Konoha's fallen shinobi. Kakashi would spend hours there, his thoughts dwelling on those he had lost.

Sarutobi was happy to see that Kakashi was slowly letting go of the past as this was a very difficult thing to do, he knew from experience.

"Well I'm glad that we are in agreement. Naruto will be placed on team 8 and Kiba will be placed on team 7." Sarutobi said.

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Kurenai said with a bow.

"It should have been this way before, there's no reason to thank me." He responded.

"The only thing that I worry about is if they will be ready for the chunin exams." Sarutobi added.

"I don't think that will be a problem." Kakashi said with certainty.

"Are they truly that impressive?" Sarutobi asked.

"You have no idea." Kurenai answered with a smile.

"I have a feeling that the chunin exams will be very interesting this time around." She added.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As the genin were leaving the tower, they began to split off and head their separate ways.

"I'm going to get some ramen, anyone want to come with me?" Naruto asked.

"I'll come Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a smile.

"As will I." Shino stated.

"I would like to but I need to find out where my apartment is." Haku said.

"I can show you were it is!" Kiba said with enthusiasm.

"On second thought, I will show you where it is Haku." Shino said quickly.

"Hey! I can do it just fine." Kiba said with a small growl.

"Oh? Correct me if I am wrong, but you still need to recuperate from your injuries. There is no need to strain yourself." Shino said calmly ignoring the growl.

"It's okay Kiba-san, you should go rest. I'm sure Shino can show me where it is." Haku said a bit embarrassed.

Kiba looked dejected when Shino and Haku walked away, and made his way home.

"Would you like to walk me home Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked hopefully.

Sasuke looked disgusted with what he was seeing as well as the question that was asked of him.

"Get it through your head Sakura. I have better things to do then go on a date with a weakling like you." He said as he walked away.

Sakura lowered her head at the rejection and began to walk home with tears in her eyes.

Naruto glared at the retracting back of the Uchiha. Sakura may have not been that strong, but she was trying to improve herself. She was even starting to become a nicer person, and Naruto didn't enjoy the way that Sasuke seemed to carelessly hurt other's feelings.

"Sakura, why don't you come with me and Hinata." Naruto said to the obviously distressed girl.

Sakura looked up in shock.

"Are you sure? You really wouldn't mind?" She asked softly.

"Not at all. You don't have a problem with it do you Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata looked like she would object but when she saw how distressed Sakura looked, she simply shook her head.

"See its fine, let's go." Naruto said as he began to walk in the direction of his favorite food.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As the three came upon the ramen stand, Naruto rushed in and jumped onto his stool.

"Hey old man!" Naruto yelled with a smile.

"Narutuo, how's my favorite customer?" Teuchi asked as his daughter Ayame came out of the back to give Naruto a hug.

These two were some of the first people to acknowledge Naruto when he was young. Teuchi didn't care about the fox held within Naruto and was one of the first vendors to actually sell food to the young genin. Ayame was Teuchi's daughter and had brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She thought of Naruto as a younger brother and was always looking out for him.

"I'm fine. We just came back from our first mission and I am starving." Naruto said with a smile as he ordered a dozen bowls of ramen.

"Hey brat!"

All three genin turned to see Anko running down the road at full speed with Iruka in tow. Anko grabbed Naruto in a headlock while she checked him for injuries. Iruka mean while was trying to keep her from strangling the poor boy in an attempt to see if he was alright.

Hinata, Ayame, and Teuchi laughed at the three's actions, while Sakura looked around feeling a bit out of place.

'They're all so comfortable around each other. I feel like I don't belong here.' She thought sadly.

Hinata noticed Sakura's silence and decided to ask her about it.

"What's wrong Sakura?" She asked.

"Oh, it's just that you are all so comfortable around one another. I feel like an outsider. Maybe I should go." Sakura replied sadly as she stood up and walked outside.

"Don't leave Sakura." Hinata said as she quickly caught up with her.

"Why should I stay?" She asked.

"Because it looks like you really need a friend right now." Hinata said.

"That's why Naruto invited you. He saw how you were so depressed about what Sasuke said and he thought that you needed someone to hang out with you so you could feel better." She added.

"Really? I never knew that Naruto was so perceptive." Sakura admitted with some embarrassment.

"There is a lot about Naruto that many people don't know. He is very kind and would never hurt anyone needlessly." Hinata said with a look of admiration in her eyes.

"Is that why you like him, Hinata?" Sakura asked.

Hinata blushed slightly but nevertheless answered.

"It is one of the reasons I like him, but there is so much more to him." She admitted.

They stood in silence for a moment, listening to Naruto interact with the people he considered to be his siblings, before Hinata asked Sakura a question that had been bothering her for a while.

"Sakura, why do you like Sasuke." Hinata asked curiously.

"Because he's so cool!" Sakura said, her fangirl coming out.

"And?" Hinata asked calmly.

"And what?" Sakura asked confused.

"Is he kind? Does he encourage you when you are feeling down? Does he comfort you?" Hinata pressed.

Sakura looked at Hinata and began to think about what she had heard. When she really thought about it, she couldn't think of one time that Sasuke had treated her with anything other than indifference or scorn. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that chasing after Sasuke had hurt her as a ninja and a person. She had given up her friendship with Ino because both wanted to win Sasuke's heart; in doing that she had lost her first and best friend. As she grew she found that most of her actions were determined by Sasuke. She had grown her hair long because she heard that he liked long hair. She dieted because she heard that he liked skinny girls. She refrained from training to hard because she thought that he wouldn't like the scars and bruises that accompanied training.

After thinking on all of this, Sakura felt horrible. She realized that she was actually a worse ninja because of her obsession with Sauske.

"Sakura, you are a nice person and you could be a great ninja, but I think that you need to get your priorities straight. I like Naruto, but that doesn't stop me from striving to become the best ninja I can be. In fact, he pushes me to become better. It's one of the things I like most about him. He never puts me down or belittles me like my old clan used to do. He always encourages me and helps me whenever he can." Hinata said.

"I think that you should find someone who embodies all that you want in a boyfriend. I think that if you are truly honest with yourself, then you will see that Sasuke isn't the person you truly want to spend your life with." She added.

"You want to marry Naruto?!" Sakura whispered with surprise.

"I wouldn't mind being his wife someday." Hinata said with a large blush on her face.

Sakura was stunned at the admission. Hinata was only thirteen and yet she was already thinking about the man that she would marry. When Sakura calmed down, she thought about it and had to admit that Sasuke wasn't someone she would have liked to be married to for the rest of her life. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Thanks a lot Hinata, I have a lot of thinking to do. Tell Naruto thank you for me, when he gets out of that head lock." She said with a smile as she turned to walk home, she truly had a lot to think about.

"One question Hinata, how can you be so sure about your feelings?" Sakura asked as she paused.

"All I have to do is think of everything I could ever want in a boyfriend or husband, and I always find that Naruto fits the description perfectly." Hinata answered with a smile.

"Are you every going to tell him that?" Sakura asked.

"Maybe one day, when I am sure of his feelings toward me. I don't want to find out that he doesn't think of me that way and have it affect our friendship." Hinata said.

"Okay, Thanks again Hinata." Sakura said as she turned to leave.

After Sakura left, Hinata walked back to find the three ninja had finished their comedic fighting and Naruto was busy explaining what had transpired on the mission.

"Then I kicked Aoi's butt and then my new friend Haku brought Gato to us." Naruto said to Anko and Iruka before he went back to eating his numerous bowls of ramen.

"I must say that I am impressed, you've come a long way Naruto." Iruka said with a proud smile on his face.

"What do you expect Iruka-kun, he is our little brother and I know that I taught him well enough to be able to handle a few A rank ninja." Anko said with a wide smile on her face.

"By the way, were you two on a date?" Naruto asked with a teasing smile on his face.

Iruka blushed at that, though Anko just smiled.

"And what if we were? It looks like you and Hinata are on a date as well." She said with a teasing smile of her own.

"We are not!" Naruto yelled with a small blush on his face, Hinata's was much larger.

Naruto looked over at Hinata to see how she took Anko's comment only to see that Sakura had left.

"Hinata-chan, where did Sakura go?" Naruto asked.

"She said that she had some thinking to do and to thank you for offering her ramen." Hinata said, being knocked out of her thoughts of her and Naruto on a date.

"Well, I'm glad that she is feeling better. Sasuke has no business hurting other people's feelings like that. I still can't believe that we are on the same team." Naruto said with an angry tone.

"Me either, I still owe Kakashi a kick in the"

"Anko-chan!" Iruka yelled.

"Oh lighten up Iruka-kun" She said with a smile.

They stayed and conversed with each other for a while. Anko talked to Hinata to find out how she was progressing with the serpent taijutsu style and even told her some new skills to learn and practice to improve herself. Iruka and Naruto talked between each other about how Naruto had improved and how Iruka was doing with the academy. They continued to catch up with each other until it was time to leave. Anko and Iruka left together, as did Naruto and Hinata.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As Naruto and Hinata walked back to her house, they conversed on what happened on the mission as well as what they thought they would face in the future.

As Hinata watched Naruto talk and smile she felt confirmed in what she had told Sakura earlier.

'Even after everything he has gone through; he is able to smile and laugh and is so considerate of those around him.' She thought as she smiled and laughed along with him.

When they came to Hinata's house Naruto hesitated for a moment.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" she asked concerned.

"It's just that I realized that we won't be working together on our next mission. I kind of forgot that during the battle on the bridge. We worked together so perfectly. I can't believe that we were split apart." Naruto said in frustration.

"It's okay Naruto. I'm sure that everything will work out eventually." Hinata said, trying to comfort him.

"I hope you're right Hinata-chan. It's just that I would give anything to be on the same team as you and Shino. It looks like all I can do is make the best of where I'm at and hope that the old man changes his mind." Naruto said dejectedly.

Hinata hated to see Naruto upset and grabbed his hand to comfort him. Naruto was once again surprised by the physical contact between them. He looked at her and saw just how hard it was for her to be separated from him as well. He clutched her hand in a silent attempt to comfort her as well as thank her. They said nothing for a moment; they simply enjoyed the peace they received from each other's comfort.

"Oh there you two are." Kurenai said as she walked up to the genin with a huge grin on her face. The two genin instantly split apart with matching blushes on their faces.

"Kurenai-neesan, where were you?" Hinata asked after composing herself.

"Oh, I was held up with the Hokage, working out a few minor issues." She said, her smile never leaving her face.

"I guess I'll be off then." Naruto said as he turned to leave.

"Wait a minute Naruto. You don't know where the team is meeting tomorrow." Kurenai said with her smile growing.

"What do you mean? I'm not on your team remember." Naruto said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Oh yes you are." Kurenai said.

"What!" Naruto and Hinata yelled simultaneously.

"That's one of the things me and the Hokage discussed. As of now you are officially a part of team 8." Kurenai said, her smile growing.

Naruto was at a loss for words. He couldn't believe his ears.

'I'm on team 8? I'm on team 8!' he thought as his smile grew until it encompassed his entire face.

He jumped up with a cry of excitement and instantly wrapped Hinata in a hug and began to spin her around. Hinata blushed slightly at the contact, but was laughing in joy along with him.

Kurenai watched all of this transpire with a feeling of accomplishment. She saw the joy the two displayed and knew that Shino would be just as happy, though he wouldn't express it nearly as much.

'So team 8 is finally in business. I can't wait until the chunin exams come up. Everyone will be in for a great surprise.' She thought as she too began to laugh at the joyous mood.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto woke up the next morning in a great mood.

'Today is the first day of training with Hinata and Shino as a legitimate team.' He thought with a smile as he hurried to get all of his equipment. AS he prepared himself his eyes fell onto his sword.

Naruto walked over to it and picked it up with a curious expression on his face.

'I just don't get it. What was that strange power that overcame me during the battle? Where did that attack, Dragon Strike, come from?' Naruto thought as he inspected his blade.

He felt none of the power that had strengthened him during the battle. He didn't even feel the slight rush of emotion that he felt before the power boost. Naruto shook his head in confusion and decided to take it with him.

"Well whatever you are, I'm glad that you're on my side." Naruto said as he turned to leave.

"What do you mean? It's a sword."

Naruto turned swiftly and was met with the same figure wrapped in a black cloak.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked curiously, he had long sense gotten used to the figure's surprise appearances.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on completing your first mission, as well as successfully using the sword I gave you." He said.

"What do you mean successfully? Do you have any idea what happened?" Naruto asked.

"Of course I do. I must say that I am impressed that you were able to use the Dragon Strike so soon. You must have been listening to the sword." He replied.

"But what was that feeling? What was that rush of power that overcame me? How did I know to use the Dragon Strike?" Naruto asked, becoming frustrated.

"That is a secret!" He said as he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Naruto yelled as he drew his sword and slipped into the kenjutsu stance that Zabuza had taught him.

"I want some answers and I want them now!" Naruto yelled.

"That's an impressive kenjutsu stance." The figure said without turning around.

"But do you really think that it's a good idea to threaten me?" He added from behind Naruto.

Naruto didn't move as he felt the cold steel of a sword pressing into his throat. It took him a moment to realize that the sword was his own. The mysterious man had somehow appeared directly behind him, and taken his sword in the span of a second.

Naruto was feeling very nervous. If he wanted to, the man could kill Naruto where he stood instantly.

"You know you shouldn't anger those that are stronger than you. And you should _never_ underestimate an opponent." The man said menacingly as he pressed the blade into Naruto's throat a bit harder.

By this time Naruto began to sweat.

'Oh man! What am I going to do?!' He thought when he suddenly felt the pressure at his throat disappear. Naruto instantly went on guard.

The figure was gazing at the blade, completely ignoring the young genin.

"If you want answers then I suggest you ask you tenant. He will be able to tell you everything." He said in a calm voice, as if he hadn't just had Naruto's life in his hands.

"My tenant, you mean the Kyuubi? How am I supposed to talk to him and why would I want to?" Naruto asked cautiously so that the figure wouldn't attack him.

"Have fun Naruto." The figure said as he placed the sword down and began to walk away.

"Have fun? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"I mean you should enjoy the coming few weeks, because I don't think you'll be having much fun soon after." The man said as he continued to walk away.

Naruto refrained from asking what he meant. It seemed that whoever this person was, he still refused to answer questions he didn't want to.

When the man had disappeared, Naruto took his sword and sheathed it. He then went to join his teammates and find out what they were doing for the day.

'Have fun? I'm with Hinata and Shino now. What could possibly ruin that?' He thought as he turned to leave.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Here's chapter 12. I know it was a bit slow but the chunin exams are coming soon and I can tell you now that you will not want to miss it. Naruto may want to tread carefully with the mysterious figure from now on. And what could Kyuubi know about the sword? Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: The Chunin Exams**

**I want to give a shout out to three of my favorite writers who have helped me from day one. I want to give a huge thanks to Marchgirl, Leaf Ranger, and Fester0662. If you haven't read their fics than you need to leave right now and read them because they are even better than mine.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

When Naruto arrived at the training field, he stopped thinking about what had just transpired and once again allowed himself to bask in the feeling of joy from being reunited with his friends.

Shino was surprised and extremely pleased when he found out the news, though he refrained from showing either emotion.

Kurenai allowed the three a moment to enjoy the situation before she took charge.

"Alright, listen up." She said in a commanding voice.

All three genin instantly came to attention and gave her their undivided attention.

"We are very happy that you are now with us Naruto, but now it's time to get down to business. In a few weeks time you three will be participating in the chunin exams." She said, much to their surprise.

"The chunin exams? But we're only rookies." Naruto said confused. It wasn't that he didn't want to participate; he was just confused as to why she would have so much confidence in them.

"They may be, but you three are ready. Your teamwork is second to none and that will help you through the first few parts of the exam." She said.

"What will the exam consist of?" Shino asked.

"I'm not at liberty to tell you, but rest assured that you three will need to rely on each other to make it through." She answered.

"Now I think that it's time to get to work. You three are good individually and great together, but there is always room for improvement." Kurenai said as she began to give out tasks and training exercises for them to complete.

For the rest of the day, she trained them on their teamwork. She wanted to get them up to the best level they could possibly be at for the exams. She was pleased to see that throughout all of the exercises and repetitious maneuvers, they never complained once. They simply nodded and went straight to their task.

'It's good to have them together again. However, they will need to improve; the chunin exams are far from easy for even the most experienced genin. They will need to be at their best.' Kurenai thought as she continued to train them.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kurenai wasn't the only one to be pleased with the team change. Kakashi was currently gazing at his team and was impressed with their work ethic.

Kakashi was surprised by how quickly the genin had adjusted to the switch between Naruto and Kiba.

Sakura was slightly surprised but seemed genuinely happy that Naruto was with his friends.

Kiba was slightly confused as to the reason that they had been changed, but he enjoyed his new team more. He felt a bit of an outcast on team 8 as Shino, Hinata, and Kurenai were more used to Naruto. Kiba felt more comfortable in team 7 because they didn't have months of prior training with each other. Another reason was that as an Inuzuka, Kiba felt the need to express himself as the dominate male and he needed someone to challenge him. Shino had no desire to challenge Kiba, but Kiba had a feeling that Sasuke would be a perfect rival.

Sasuke was the only person that had a problem with the arrangements. While he didn't express it visibly, he didn't like the fact that Naruto was no longer around. Sasuke wanted to prove to Naruto that he was the greater ninja, but now it seemed that he wouldn't get the chance. Though Sasuke was upset about it, he still wouldn't allow himself to be shown up by Kiba. He didn't consider Kiba as worthy a rival as Naruto but he still would prove himself as the best on the team.

'We will meet again Naruto, and when we do I will prove to you that I am still the best.' He thought when he had adjusted to the news.

Currently, Sasuke and Kiba were trying to outdo each other in any exercise that Kakashi assigned them. This is exactly what Kakashi wanted to happen with Naruto, but life rarely went the way that one wanted.

The real surprise to Kakashi was Sakura. She had come to the training field ready to work. She tried as hard as she could and while it was still far below the boy's performances, she always tried her best. Kakashi nearly dropped his Icha Icha book when she left practice without asking Sasuke for a date.

'What could have gotten into Sakura? She's actually acting like she's serious about being a ninja.' Kakashi thought as he watched his team leave.

As it stood, both teams were benefitting from the trade and were on their way to become proficient teams.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Good job today. If you keep this up then I am sure that you will not only do well in the exam, but you may very well pass it." Kurenai said to her now exhausted genin.

"You really think so Kurenai -sensei?" Naruto asked as he tried to catch his breath.

"I do." She said with the utmost confidence.

"We'll meet here tomorrow at the same time." She added as she turned to leave.

"Well I'm starving, so who wants to go get some ramen?" Naruto asked as he stood up.

Hinata and Shino agreed and they all went to celebrate their first day as a team.

As they were walking toward the ramen stand, Shino suddenly stopped.

"What is it Shino-san?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Haku is nearby." He said calmly.

"How do you know that?" Naruto asked.

"She has an insect with her." Shino said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Oh? I thought you only place insects on those that you really care about. Is there something you want to tell us?" Naruto said with a smile.

Shino was saved from having to comment as Haku was seen exiting a store. She stopped when she saw the three genin and walked toward them.

"What's up Haku!" Naruto said exuberantly.

"Hello Naruto, Hinata, Shino." She said, though her gaze stopped on Shino a moment longer than the others.

"What have you been up to?" Hinata asked kindly. Haku was the first female friend she had ever had.

"I am trying to learn my way around Konoha. It's still a bit overwhelming as I have not been around such a large amount of people since I was a child in the hidden mist village." Haku said.

"Well we were going to go get some ramen, you want to come?" Naruto asked.

"What's ramen?" Haku asked with a confused look on her face.

Naruto looked at her as if she had asked the most insane question ever.

"You've never had ramen! We have got to get you some right now." Naruto urgently said as he ran to the ramen stand.

Hinata laughed at his antics and followed after him.

"Naruto is acting much more relaxed now then he did on the mission." Haku said as she and Shino walked together at a slower pace.

"It is probably because he is on our team now. He couldn't allow himself to relax on his old team as they had not gained his trust or respect. He was more reserved and shut himself off from them." Shino explained.

"Is it really that difficult to gain Naruto's trust?" Haku asked.

"Naruto has had a very difficult life. He is treated badly by the villagers and doesn't trust very many people." Shino said with a small amount of sadness in his voice.

Haku looked around and saw the looks that some of the villagers were giving to the blonde genin.

"Why do they treat him that way? Naruto is a very kind and caring person." Haku said with confusion.

"I'm afraid it isn't my place to tell you Naruto's past or his secret." Shino said.

Haku understood what it was like to lack trust in others and she felt very happy that she was counted as one of Naruto's friends.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

They arrived at the ramen stand and engaged in light conversation. Haku told them about the missions she would start as a chunin, to which Shino expressed his desire for her to be careful. This of course started Naruto off about them being very close to one another. Shino refrained from commenting, though Haku simply smiled and asked if there was something between him and Hinata that they were not sharing. This caused Naruto and Hinata to blush and effectively ended that line of conversation.

When it was time to leave, they did so in pairs. Naruo walked with Hinata back to her house, and Shino offered to show Haku around Konoha a bit more.

As Haku walked with Shino, she noticed the looks that people were giving him. Their looks angered Haku as they were judging him without getting to know who he was. To Haku, Shino was a very kind, if a bit reserved person. He didn't express his emotions very much, but he did have them and he cared deeply for others.

She then noticed the looks of confusion that they were giving her. It was as if they couldn't understand why someone would want to be close to an Aburame. Haku realized this and noticeably stood closer to Shino as he continued to show her around the village.

'He isn't letting their opinions affect him. Is it because he has become immune to the looks or that he is just used to them?' She thought sadly as she noticed his lack of response to the strange looks.

She grabbed his hand and continued to walk with him in the direction of her house, completely ignoring the strange looks the villagers were giving her as well as Shino's up raised eyebrows at her gesture.

"Shino, do you think that I could come watch you three train tomorrow?" Haku asked as they came to her apartment.

"Of course. I'm sure that Kurenai-sensei and the others wouldn't mind." Shino replied.

"Thank you so much for showing me around Shino. It was nice to see the village and even more nice that you would go out of your way to accompany me." She said with a smile.

"It was my pleasure Haku. You are one of my friends, and friends always help one another." Shino said calmly.

"I guess I will see you tomorrow then." She said as she turned to go into her house.

Shino nodded and began to turn to leave when Haku's voice stopped him for a moment.

"Shino?"

"Yes?" He asked as he turned to her.

"Would you mind showing me more of Konoha's sights later?" She asked with a small, shy smile on her face.

"It would be a pleasure." Shino said with a small blush that was hidden by his high coat collar.

Haku nodded happily and entered her house.

Shino was in deep thought as he made his way home. He was still trying to untangle the emotions he was experiencing when he associated with Haku.

When Shino entered his house he was greeted by his father with a nod and his mother came and wrapped him in a hug. Shino's mother, Akiko, was not of the Aburame clan. She had actually met Shino's father, Shibi, during one of his missions and the two had fallen in love and married. Thus she was much more expressive of her emotions, which made her an interesting figure in the house.

"How was your first day of training with your new team Shino?" She asked.

"It was fine." He said, still distracted by the encounter with Haku.

"Why did Kurenai-san keep you out so late?" Shibi asked.

"She didn't. Naruto, Hinata and I went to get ramen when we met our friend that returned with us from the wave mission. Afterwards, I showed her around the village to help her better adjust." Shino said trying to hide the rush of feelings he experienced when he thought about Haku.

His parents noticed their son's behavior and reacted differently to it.

Shibi simply raised an eyebrow and contemplated wither or not he needed to find out more about this girl.

Akiko was ecstatic. She grabbed Shino and told him to tell her all about Haku. Afterwards she spent the rest of the night talking about how sweet Haku sounded and that she was so happy that her son had found a nice girl to spent his time with. She then began to ask him when he would bring Haku around so she could meet her.

Needless to say, Shino had a very stressful night.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

And so it went for the next few weeks. Naruto, Shino and Hinata would train together in teamwork as well as individual areas.

Haku would come on regular bases and eventually she would train with them as well. She found that Hinata was very proficient with senbon needles, as her byakugan allowed her to see the pressure points on a person's skin, and so she taught her how to use them.

Anko also continued to help the genin, with Kurenai's permission. She and Kurenai worked to improve Shino's taijutsu, as his clan had a tendency to focus solely on their insects and closed themselves off to other alternative means of combat.

Naruto spent this time perfecting his techniques. According to Kurenai, he was the most balanced among the three and required the least help. She couldn't teach him genjutsu so she set about teaching him to better control his chakra. She taught him the water walking technique and continued to supervise him on learning to break genjutsu as this one of his largest weaknesses.

After practice, the three genin and Haku would normally hang out and get a bite to eat. They trained hard and prepared themselves for the exam.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"This is the last day before the exams start. There will be no training today, I want you to relax and prepare yourselves for tomorrow. You three will do fine and I can't tell you how I proud I am of you." Kurenai said as she handed them their applications.

"Alright, we're going to show everyone how great we are!" Naruto said with confidence, as they walked together on their day off.

"I know that we can do well as long as we are together." Hinata added with a smile.

Shino simply nodded his consent to their comments, when all three heard the cry of a child.

They all turned and saw a young boy being held up by a much older ninja. The ninja wore a black jumpsuit and had on purple face paint. On his back was an object wrapped in bandages. Behind him stood a female ninja with her blonde hair in four pigtails and a large fan strapped to her back.

"Hey who are you and what are you doing to that kid?" Naruto asked as he walked up the older ninja.

"Buzz off brat, this kid ran into me and now I'm going to teach him a lesson." The ninja replied.

"Kankuro let him go; we don't have time for this." The girl behind him said with exasperation.

"Hold on Temari, this won't take long." He said with a smile as he pulled his hand back to hit the boy.

He prepared to punch the boy when Naruto's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"Hey leave him alone!" Naruto said.

"Oh, you want to fight you brat?" He said as he released the boy and prepared to take the mysterious object off of his back.

"Oh I'll fight you all right, but not here or now. I can see from your headbands that you're both from the hidden sand village, which means you must be here for the chunin exams." Naruto said.

"That's right, but that doesn't change the fact that you are butting into my business." Kankuro said as he prepared to unwrap the object.

Naruto drew his sword and dropped into kenjutsu stance. Hinata and Shino came up beside him and prepared themselves for the conflict.

"Kankuro stop it."

All present parties looked up into the tree beside them and were saw the young ninja standing there. The ninja had red hair, the kanji for love tattooed on his forehead and a strange looking gourd on his back.

'I didn't even sense him.' Naruto thought suspiciously. Whoever this new ninja was he was not to be trifled with.

"G-Gaara. I-it's not what it looks like." Kankuro stuttered in fear.

"Shut up or I'll kill you." Gaara said as he jumped down in of front of Kankuro.

Kankuro relaxed his stance and fearfully backed up toward Temari. Gaara looked at the three genin with unemotional eyes.

"I apologize for my brother, I am Gaara of the desert. Who are you?" He asked in a dead tone.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, these are my friends Hinata and Shino." Naruto said as he slowly relaxed his guard. Something about this ninja put him on edge.

Gaara nodded and turned to leave. Temari and Kankuro left with him, though both looked like they would rather be anywhere else.

Naruto watched them go with mixed feelings.

'Something about that guy feels dangerous. He was completely serious about killing his own brother. We better watch out for him during the chunin exams.' He thought as he turned to the boy that was being bullied upon.

"Hey are you okay kid?" Naruto asked.

"My name isn't kid! I'm Konohamaru the grandson of the third Hokage, and I didn't need your help!" He yelled angrily.

"It didn't look that way to me." Naruto said with a bit of annoyance.

"Well who asked you?! I'm going to be the Hokage someday so you better show me some respect." Konohamaru said.

"You are going to be the Hokage someday?" Naruto said with disbelief.

"That's right then everyone will know me as Konohamaru and not as the honorably grandson." Konohamaru said.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked in confusion.

"Everyone calls me honorable grandson. All they see when they look at me is the Third's grandson. No one sees me for myself. When I become Hokage they will finally see me for myself." Konohamaru said.

"That's the reason you want to be the Hokage so people will know your name?" Naruto asked with a deathly quiet voice.

"Yeah, so what's it to you?" Konohamru asked.

"You don't deserve to be the Hokage if that's your reason." Naruto said with finality as he turned to walk away.

"Hey wait! What do you mean?!" Konohamaru asked.

"If your grandfather is the old man then you should have asked him what it truly means to be the Hokage. It's not about the title, or the fame, or the power that comes with the position. It's about caring for and defending every person in this village. It's about taking responsibility for their lives on your shoulders and doing everything in your power to keep them safe." Naruto said in a commanding voice that surprised Konohamaru as well as Shino and Hinata.

"I once thought like you did. I wanted to be the Hokage so that I could gain the respect of the villagers. But I learned that that was a selfish dream. I had no idea what it truly meant to be the Hokage, but now I know what the title entails and I will attain it. Not for myself, but for everyone in this village. I will protect and defend all those who are precious to me for that is my nindo, my ninja way." Naruto said.

The two genin and young child were stunned by the look on Naruto's face. It was completely serious, devoid of any doubt or fear. He believed everything he had stated completely.

Konohamaru was stunned. He had never thought about what it really meant to be the Hokage. He had only seen it as a means of gaining people's respect and attention. Now, though, he saw the error in that line of thinking. The Hokage wasn't selfish, but selfless. The Hokage had to willing to take responsibility for everyone in the village and to be prepared to fight and die for them if need be.

"I never thought about it that way." Konohamaru said in a sad tone. He was ashamed of his selfish reasons for wanting the Hokage position.

"Hey don't be so hard on yourself kid. I didn't get it at first either." Naruto said in a comforting tone as he placed his hand on Konohamaru's head.

"Well now I get it and I will become the Hokage for the right reasons." Konohamaru said with determination.

"Good, now then we have someplace to be so I'll see you around Konohamaru." Naruto said with a smile as he turned to leave.

"Hey just so you know we're rivals now! I'll be Hokage before you!" Konohamaru yelled after Naruto.

"Good luck with that!" Naruto yelled back as the three genin walked to the ramen stand.

Hinata was stunned by the previous encounter and looked at Naruto with new admiration in her eyes.

'Even after everything the village has put him through, he still is willing to protect them with his life if need be. Naruto, you will be the Hokage someday, I know it.' She thought with a smile as they walked to get something to eat.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The next day found the three friends preparing to enter the building where the chunin exams would take place.

"You guys ready for this?" Naruto asked as they walked up the stairs, walking toward the third floor.

"Hai." Hinata said with confidence.

Shino simply nodded.

They stopped when they saw a large group of genin in front of the second floor door. Two genin were stopping anyone from entering. A genin wearing a green jumpsuit was pleading to be allowed to gain entrance to the third floor. The genin punched the boy and told him to just give up and go home.

'Third floor? We're on the second floor.' Naruto thought.

He looked at Hinata and her nod alerted him that she too had seen through the trick.

"It's a genjutsu." Shino said simply.

"I think we should just bypass them and head on to the third floor. If anyone here is fooled by a simply genjutsu then they don't deserve to be here." Naruto said as the three attempted to discreetly walk pass the confrontation.

"Take down the genjutsu."

Naruto looked back and saw them 7 had arrived. Sasuke had been the one to make the comment, which had everyone present either scratching their heads in confusion or wanting to hit the Uchiha for bringing it to the attention of the weaker teams.

'Why would he do that? Now everyone's going to know that it's a genjutsu.' Naruto thought.

He watched as one of the fake genin congratulated Sasuke for seeing through the genjutsu, and then suddenly attacked him. Sasuke attempted to kick him when both of their attacks were suddenly halted. The green jumpsuit wearing genin had suddenly appeared between the two and was holding Sasuke's leg and the fake genin's arm.

'He's fast!' Team eight thought.

Two people walked up beside the genin. The female had her brown hair up in two buns on the sides of her head. She was wearing a beige top and blue pants. The boy had long black hair, wrapping around one of his legs and arms, and had the eyes of a hyuga.

Naruto noticed Hinata stiffen beside him at the sight of this particular genin.

"Lee, I thought we agreed to hid our potential until later on." The girl said to the green wearing genin.

"I am sorry Tenten, but.." he trailed off as he stared at Sakura.

"You are Sakura Haruno correct?" he said as he appeared in front of Sakura.

She was stunned at the genin's speed, as well as his strange cloths and hair style. He wore a green jumpsuit, orange leg warmers, and had wrappings that covered his arms from the back of his hands to his elbows. He had his black hair in a bowl cut and the largest eyebrows she had ever seen. She nodded at his question, after composing herself.

"I am Rock Lee. Please become my girlfriend and I will protect you until my death." He said with a blindingly bright smile.

Sakura's first reaction was to call him a weird freak and tell him there was no way she would ever date him. However, she was able to restrain herself when she remembered how she used to treat Naruto. She had made the mistake of treating him badly without ever getting to know him. She wasn't going to make the mistake again.

"I'm flattered, but I'm not looking for a boyfriend right now, how about we be friends instead." She said with a smile.

"Yosh! You are as brilliant as you are beautiful. It would be my pleasure to be considered your friend until your feelings for me burn with the flames of youth!" he said.

Everyone listening was confused at the statement, except for his teammates who were shaking their heads at his antics.

Naruto watched the whole thing in wonder. Not only had this Rock Lee person moved faster then he had ever seen, but Sakura had openly stated that she wasn't looking for a boyfriend.

'I thought she was head over heels for Sasuke. I wonder what could have happened.' Naruto thought.

He was ripped from his thoughts when he noticed the look the hyuga boy was giving Hinata. He was looking at her with anger and malice, and it instantly put Naruto on guard.

"What are you looking at?" Naruto said as the genin walked up to them.

"Nothing important." He said as he disregarded Naruto and continued to stare at Hinata.

This angered Naruto greatly and he looked the genin directly in the eyes.

"I don't know who you are but you better stop looking at my teammate like that." Naruto said.

"Or?" the hyuga replied.

Naruto's hand came to rest at the hilt of his sword. "Or I'll make you." He said, deathly serious.

Everyone in the hallway had stopped what they were doing to see how this confrontation would play out.

"Naruto-kun, please stop it is not important. Let's just go." Hinata said as she grabbed his hand and loosened its grip on the sword.

Naruto reluctantly released his sword and allowed Hinata to lead him to the door.

"What's your name?" the hyuga asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"I am Neji Hyuga. You should hope that we don't meet again.

Naruto was stopped from answering when the crowd began to enter the door to get to the third floor.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I'm glad you three could make it." Kurenai said as she saw the three genin appear.

"Kurenai-sensei, what are you doing here?" Hinata asked.

"I'm just here to wish you luck and to tell you to be on your guard. There are some very powerful opponents here." She said seriously.

All three nodded and entered the doors and prepared themselves to face the chunin exams.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Sorry for the slow chapter, but I wanted to get everything out of the way in preparation for the chunin exams. Next chapter will be the start of the first and maybe the second exam, depending on how much I write. I do want to post another poll though. I ask you the readers how you want Saskue to play out. I could redeem him, kill him, or both. I personally don't like Sasuke but I do believe that people should be allowed a second chance so it's up to you. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Disclamier: Don't own Naruto**

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As team eight walked into the room where the first part of the exam would take place, they were shocked by the number of applicants.

"There are a lot of genin here." Naruto said.

"Most seem to be older than us." Shino calmly added.

"It looks like every village is being represented here." Hinata said after inspecting the genin.

"Well it looks like you showed up after all." Sasuke said arrogantly to Naruto as team seven walked up to meet with the fellow rookie team.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Naruto said a bit irritably. He was still upset about the way Neji had glared at Hinata. He didn't want to deal with Sasuke.

"You better watch out. We have trained really hard and you wouldn't stand a chance against us." Kiba said confidently, sending a small glare at Shino.

"We shall see." Shino said softly, ignoring the glare sent at him. There was still some bad blood between them over Haku.

"How are you Hinata?" Sakura asked kindly.

"I'm fine Sakura, but you seem different." Hinata said. The byakugan was known for being able to pick up on the subtle, almost imperceptible, body language of others. While Hinata was never very good at this particular skill, she was proficient enough to see that Sakura stood just a little bit straight than normal, and had a more confident air about her.

"Yeah I have changed, and I hope for the better." Sakura replied.

"Sasuke-kun!"

All of the rookies turned to see team ten walking toward them.

Ino instantly launched herself onto Sasuke while Shikamaru looked around lazily, and Choji continued to eat the bag of chips he always seemed to have with him.

"Sasuke-kun, did you miss me? I know it had to be horrible being on the same team as forehead girl." Ino said as she gave Sakura a challenging look.

Sasuke failed to respond, but what shocked Ino more was that Sakura didn't seem to care that she was hugging onto Sasuke.

"I didn't know you guys were participating." Naruto said.

"It's so troublesome. Asuma-sensei found out that your teams were competing and decided to have us compete as well. He kept us out late for training for a few weeks." Shikamaru said in his usual bored tone.

"That's right, I'm much stronger now Sasuke-kun!" Ino said as she tried to impress the boy of her affections.

"Whatever, get off me Ino." Sasuke said with annoyance. He hated how girls always seemed to declare their love for him without ever getting to know him. It made him feel like an object.

"You guys may want to keep it down." said a genin as he walked up to the rookie nine.

He had silver hair that was drawn back in a ponytail; he wore glasses, and had on a purple outfit.

"And you are?" Naruto asked.

"My name is Kabuto Yakushi." He said.

"Is this your first time taking the exam?" Sakura asked.

"Nope it's my seventh." Kabuto said with a sheepish smile.

"Man you must suck!" Kiba said snickering.

"Hey the exam is hard and this time looks like it will be one of the toughest in years." He said.

"Why do you say that?" Choji asked.

"There are some very powerful genin this year. I should know I have data cards on almost everyone here." Kabuto said smugly.

"Data cards?" Naruto asked a bit confused.

"That's right anyone you want to know about?" Kabuto asked as he pulled out a deck of cards.

"I want to know about a kid called Neji Hyuga and Gaara of the desert." Naruto said.

"You already know their names? That's no fun." He said as he pulled out two specific cards and showed them to the genin.

"Neji Hyuga is of the hyuga clan and is considered to be one of the most talented to come out of the clan in years. His teammates are Tenten and Rock Lee." Kabuto said as he read the card.

Naruto noticed Hinata stiffen slightly and swore that he would find out what had happened between her and Neji. There were many things that irritated Naruto, but the quickest way to make him mad was to insult or try to harm his friends.

"Gaara of the desert is a genin from the sand village. Wow! This kid has been on a B-rank mission and it's said that he was never injured during a mission." Kabuto said with some astonishment.

"He's been on a B-rank mission and has never been hurt?!" Kiba said in disbelief.

"That's the way it seems, these two are some pretty strong genin and there are plenty more in the room just as dangerous. There are genin from the leaf, sand, rock, mist, cloud, and sound village. You can bet that ninja from the five great villages are very strong. No one knows anything about the sound village genin though. Their village appeared very recently so their probably not very strong." Kabuto said, not noticing the glares being sent his way from the three genin from the sound village.

"Like it matters, we'll still come out on top." Naruto said with confidence.

"Um, maybe you shouldn't have said that Naruto." Choji said.

Naruto looked behind him and saw almost every genin in the room glaring at the nine genin because of his comment. They knew that the nine genin were rookies and they felt it was an insult to their pride that the three rookie teams were there.

Naruto looked at the heated looks being sent his way and noticed that the glares were beginning to unnerve a few of the rookies. He decided to do something about it.

"Just to let you know, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and I don't care who you are or where you're from. I will become a chunin and if you stand in my way then I will take you out!" He said with complete confidence as he turned his back and ignored the heated looks he was sure he had gained.

"Are you trying to get everyone in the room to hate us you idiot!" Ino yelled.

"No he's trying to get them to hate _him_. It's actually pretty clever of him." Shino said calmly.

"How is that clever at all?" Ino asked.

"He noticed that they were glaring at all of us and that it was affecting a few of us, you included." Shino explained as Ino blushed at being caught. She was a bit overwhelmed by the size of the group and the harsh looks being sent her way.

"If you look carefully you will see that they are all directing their anger at Naruto. He is used to being hated and so decided to take the brunt of the glares so that the rest of us will feel better." Shino added.

'Wow that's pretty nice of him, but why would he be used to being glared at?' Ino thought as she turned to the commotion that had started up.

Kabuto was on his knees coughing up blood from an attack by the three sound genin. What was strange was that there didn't seem to be a scratch on him, though his glasses were broken.

"Write this down onto your data cards. The three genin from the sound village will be chunin by the end of the exam." One of the sound genin stated.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of smoke in the center of the room and a group of leaf chunin stood at attention behind a jonin.

"Alright you maggots, my name is Ibiki Morino and I will be your instructor for the first part of the chunin exams. And you sound genin better watch yourselves. There will be no fighting outside of what is allowed." He said. Ibiki wore a trench coat similar to Anko's except it was black, he wore black gloves, a black shirt and pants, and his head was covered by a head band.

"If you survive this exam then you will be a chunin, a minister of death for your country. But until then you are pukes! You are the lowest form of life on earth! You are not even human beings! It is my job to weed out all participants who do not have what it takes to become a chunin, so watch yourself!" he yelled.

When everyone had quieted down he continued.

"Now, take your seats. The first part of the exam will be a written portion." He said with a sadistic grin as the genin all looked at him in confusion and a bit of fear.

'A wriiten test? What's the point of that?' Naruto thought. While he had improved greatly since the academy, written exams were simply not his strong suit.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I wonder how their doing?" Asuma Sarutobi said as he, Kurenai and Kakashi sat in a conference room to wait and see how the first part of the exam turned out.

Asuma was the son of the third Hokage. He wore the standard jonin outfit, but he had a sash around his waist. This sash symbolized that he was once one of the twelve guardian ninja for the fire lord. Asuma was a chronic smoker and always had a cigarette in his mouth.

"I'm sure that they will do just fine." Kurenai said with certainty.

"Maybe, but I heard that Ibiki was their first proctor." Asuma replied.

"That sadist? Their chances are questionable now." Kakashi said with a sigh.

"Who is Ibiki?" Kurenai asked curiously.

"I forgot that you are a new jonin. Ibiki is the head of the interrogation and torture department of the leaf village. He is known for being able to break a prisoner's mind with words alone." Kakashi replied.

"He is not someone that a regular genin would be able to handle." Asuma added.

"Well I still have confidence in my genin." Kurenai said.

"As do I." Kakashi said.

"Well let's see how they do." Asuma said while lighting a cigarette.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

'This is insane!' Naruto thought as he read over the questions.

He had improved during his training with Anko and was able to bring his exam scores up during the academy. However, the questions before him were on a completely new level of difficultly.

'Only someone extremely intelligent would be able to answer these questions. How do they expect us to answer these if we aren't allowed to cheat?' He thought.

Ibiki had been very clear about cheating. If you were caught too many times then your entire team would be kicked out. A few teams had already been dismissed for being caught cheating.

Naruto looked around and noticed that Hinata was sitting beside him. He also saw that she was using the byakugan to copy the answers of a genin close to him.

'Hinata is cheating. Why would she do that?' he thought as he looked around. He noticed that quite a few ninja were using various different techniques to copy answers.

'Of course! The purpose must be to cheat without getting caught. If we are going to become chunin we need to learn how to gather information without being found out.' Naruto thought with a smile. He was proud of himself with figuring it out.

'But wait I don't have any techniques that are subtle enough to get me an answer!' he thought dejectedly.

Suddenly an insect landed on Naruto's paper. He looked at it as it began to move in various different directions. This confused Naruto until he noticed that it was one of Shino's special insects. He followed the path that it was moving and began to answer a few of the questions.

"Alright time's up and it's time for the final question." Ibiki said.

"Before I give it to you I want to let you know that you don't have to take it if you don't want to. You can leave right now and quit. However if you decide to answer the question then you had better answer correctly because anyone who fails to answer this question will never be allowed to take the exam again." Ibiki added with a sadistic smile.

Many of the participants began to sweat under the possibility of staying a genin for the rest of their career, and many began to drop out.

'Stay a genin for the rest of my life?! That is not an option! I have to continue to progress and I can't stop here.' He thought with determination.

"I don't care what you say! I'm not quitting and I'm not giving up so just get on with it!" Naruto yelled as he stood up.

"Are you sure about that? If you get it wrong then you won't ever be able to become a chunin." Ibiki said.

"Maybe, but if I were to give up under such a small amount of pressure then I don't deserve to be called a chunin anyway." Naruto said with conviction.

"Do the rest of you feel the same?" Ibiki asked the remaining teams.

They all nodded their heads. It seemed that Naruto's speech had inspired the remaining ninja and dispelled their doubts.

"Fine then you all pass." Ibiki said.

"What! Then what about the final question?" Kiba yelled.

"There is not final question. Like the brat here said, I just wanted to see if you could take the pressure or if you would crack." Ibiki explained.

"When you become a chunin you will be sent on very dangerous missions. You will sometimes have to make impossible decisions where any choice you make will have dire consequence. Despite this you must be willing to make a decision. All those that gave up proved that they wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of making the tough decisions that a chunin will be asked to make on daily missions. Play time is over. If you become a chunin then every mission will be a life or death struggle." Ibiki said with a solemn voice.

The genin were shocked by his words as well as his head. Ibiki had removed the head band and his entire head was a combination of scars.

Suddenly one of the windows exploded and smoke began to fill the room as a figure stood in the smoke.

"Introducing your second proctor, Anko Mitarashi!" Anko yelled exuberantly.

"Anko you were early again." Ibiki said annoyed.

"Sorry about that." She said sheepishly.

"Nee-san? You didn't tell me you were going to be a proctor." Naruto said as he walked up the Anko.

"You never asked brat. I'm glad you made it through the first part." She said as she grabbed Naruto in a headlock.

Most of the remaining teams, with exception to Shino and Hinata, looked at the two with confusion.

"Nee-san? I thought Naruto was an orphan." Choji said with confusion.

"They're not related by blood, but they have had a sibling bond since the academy. She helped train Naruto and is one of the major reasons he has improved so drastically." Shino explained to the rookies.

"Alright everyone follow me. It's time for the second part of the chunin exams and let me tell you that what you just went through is a walk in the park compared to what comes next." Anko said as she turned to leave, though she failed to release Naruto.

"Hey let me go! I can walk on my own." Naruto yelled.

"Oh, do you want to spend some time with Hinata-chan?" Anko teased.

"S-shut up!" Natuo yelled in embarrassment as Anko continued to carry him in a headlock to the second part of the exam.

"She's about as weird as Naruto." Ino commented.

Not even Shino and Hinata could refute the statement.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Alright this is the forest of death and yes the name is accurate." Anko said as the participants stood in front of a heavily forested area that was surrounded by fences.

"The second part of the exam is to make it to the tower in the middle of the forest within five days." Anko said.

'What about food?!" Choji yelled in fear.

"You're ninja, you'll figure it out. Now then each team will be given one of two scrolls. You will need both of the scrolls when you enter the tower. How you get them is up to you." Anko said.

"So we are allowed to kill?" A mist ninja asked with a smile.

"Sure, anything goes in the forest. Watch out for yourself and your teammates because all three of you must be present to be allowed in the tower. Now one representative should follow me to receive your scroll." She said as she walked to a tent.

Naruto represented team eight and so he followed Anko. She handed him an earth scroll but grabbed his hand before he could leave.

"Be very careful in there otouto." Anko said sincerely and with a bit of fear.

"Don't worry nee-san, we'll be okay." He said with a smile as he turned to leave.

'I hope so Naruto. This part of the exam is always the most dangerous and I don't want anything happening to you or your team.' She thought as the next representative came in for their scroll.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Shino I want you to take point in the forest." Naruto said as they waited in front of their assigned entrance.

"Why?" Shino asked.

"This forest must be filled with insects and you can communicate with them." Naruto explained.

"That's a good idea; you should take point Shino." Hinata said.

"Very well, though I plan to relinquish the title should the need present itself." Shino said.

Suddenly the gates opened and all of the teams ran into the forest to try and complete the second part of the exam.

Team eight ran with Shino in front and Naruto and Hinata flanking him. After a while Shino stopped abruptly and tilted his head to the side.

"Someone is approaching." Shino said after a moment.

"Which direction, Hinata?" Naruto asked as he readied himself.

"Two from the north, and the third is trying to come up from behind." Hinata said.

"Well we can continue on and meet them head-on or we can stay put and wait for them." Naruto said.

"We should wait here. There are poisonous insects above us that are waiting for my command to attack." Shino said.

Team eight didn't have long to wait until two ninja appeared in front of them. They were from the rock village and considering the fact that the rock and leaf villages were always on bad terms, this looked like an inevitable battle.

"Well look who we found. It's the loud mouth rookie from earlier." One of them said. He was Shino's height, had black hair, and was wearing a brown combat suit.

"We can finally shut the brat up, and the fact that he's a leaf ninja will make his death much more satisfying." The other ninja replied. She was a little taller than Hinata and had short white hair.

"You do realize that you are outnumbered right?" Naruto asked, not in the least afraid of their threats.

"The best way to defeat an enemy is to cut off their escape route and then kill them at your leisure. Or don't they teach you that in this weak village." The final member of the rock team said as he appeared behind them with a sneer. He wore his brown hair in a low ponytail and was built like a tank. He was obviously the leader of this group as the other two awaited his commands on when to strike.

"They do, however, you make the mistake of assuming that we will run away." Hinata said as she activated her byakugan and went into her taijutsu style.

"Ha! You haven't got a chance!" the girl said.

"Shino when are you going to let those insects loose?" Naruto whispered.

"I would, except they are not close enough yet. This bugs are very slow, thus they rely on powerful toxins to kill their prey slowly. If they were to attack now, they would be too obvious and easily dodged." He relied softly.

"Oh well, so much for the easy way. Now it's time to have some fun." Naruto said with a smile as he prepared himself.

"The shrimp is mine. Take the others." The leader said as the female ninja rushed through handsigns.

"**Earth style: stone javelin jutsu**!" she yelled as large spear shaped chunks of rock rose from the ground and few toward team eight.

"Let's go!" Naruto yelled as he dodged the attack and rushed the leader.

Hinata faced off against the female rock nin, which left Shino to face the black haired rock ninja.

"You must want to die brat." The rock ninja said as he began to throw punches at Naruto.

Naruto was able to dodge them easily, but could tell that there was a lot of power behind the blows.

'His size isn't for show, but the bigger they are the harder they fall.' Naruto thought as he attacked with the true dragon style.

Naruto launched a spin kick at the ninja's head and was surprised when the rock ninja made no move to block. The kick connected but the ninja didn't flinch. He grabbed Naruto's ankle and hurled him toward a tree. Naruto righted himself in mid air and met the tree feet first and stuck to it.

"What the heck?" He said in confusion.

"What was that? It felt like an insect bite. If that's the best you've got then you have no chance of beating me." The rock ninja said with a sneer.

(With Shino)

Shino was dodging the rock ninja's attacks, looking for an opening to release his insects and end the fight quickly.

"I know all about the Aburame clan of the leaf village." The black haired ninja said as he fought Shino.

"I won't allow you to steal my chakra. **Earth style: rock armor jutsu**!" he said as his skin became covered in rock.

"Interesting, but I wonder how long you can keep that up." Shino replied calmly.

"Long enough to deal with you!" the rock ninja said as he rushed toward Shino.

Shino dodged the charge, but couldn't find an opening to attack. He was forced to continue to dodge the blows from the stone covered enemy.

(With Hinata)

Hinata was having less trouble then the others, but was still fighting a tough opponent.

She was able to dodge everyone of the female's attack, but she couldn't get close enough to cause her opponent any real damage.

"Ha! All you can do is run like a frightened little rabbit." The rock ninja said as she continued to launch multiple rock based attacks at the former hyuga.

'How can I get close enough to finish her off?' Hinata thought. She could have resorted to kunai and shuriken, but the female rock nin refused to give her anytime to compose herself.

"If this is the best the leaf has to offer then the rest of this exam will be cake." The rock ninja said with a smile as she prepared another attack.

'I'm ill-equipped to defeat her." Hinata thought as she continued to dodge.

(With Naruto)

Naruto was becoming very frustrated with the battle. No matter how hard or swift he fought the rock ninja simply took every attack without any sign of damage. Naruto had resorted to fighting long range but it made no difference.

'Okay, Shadow clones are out as he would just tear through them and I would have just wasted chakra. I could use exploding shadow clones, but there has to be a more efficient way to do this. I don't want the explosion to alert any teams within hearing distance that a battle is taking place, they'll just wait and attack us immediately while we are recovering. I don't want to use my sword because if he is able to block the blade I very well may lose it to him.' Naruto thought.

Naruto created a few clones to buy him some time and hopefully give him an idea.

He looked around and saw the predicaments that Shino and Hinata were in.

'I've got an idea!' Naruto thought as the rock ninja finished off his clones.

"While I must say that the use of the shadow clone jutsu by a genin is impressive, it's not enough to defeat me. Face it, any attack you throw at me will fail and I will eventually finish you off." The rock ninja said.

"You're right. Good thing I don't plan to fight you anymore." Naruto said with a smile.

"**Shadow clone jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as dozens of clones burst into existence.

The rock ninja thought that this was just another failed attempt until a few of the clones ran away to attack his team members.

"Look out!" he yelled.

He team members saw the approaching clones and were quick to disperse them. However, when they looked around they found that the leaf ninja had disappeared.

"What, where did they go?" the female rock ninja said.

'Who cares, they couldn't have gotten far, now let's go find them." The rock leader said as they began their search.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Team eight had retreated under the shadow clone diversion and were no more than a few meters away when Naruto stopped them to regroup.

"Okay, that didn't go very well at all." Naruto said as he wiped his forehead.

"My opponent seemed to know exactly how to fight me." Shino said.

"So did mine, I couldn't get close enough to attack at all." Hinata replied.

"That's why I did what I did. Their team is very balanced. They have a long distance attacker in the female, a close range fighter in the one you fought Shino, and there leader can take any attack without any obvious sign of damage." Naruto said.

"What should we do Naruto? You are the leader now." Shino said.

"We can beat these guys; I think we need to switch opponents. I'll take the girl, Hinata-chan you take the guy Shino was fighting and Shino you fight my opponent." Naruto said.

"They won't fall for it. They will probably be telling each other the way to defeat us as we speak. If we switch opponents they will simply switch back" Shino objected.

"That's why I have a plan." Naruto said with a smile.

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The rock team was searching for the leaf ninja when Hinata attacked them from above. They avoided her and she ran off. The female rock ninja gave chase.

"She's mine. Go get the others." She said over her shoulder.

"Okay, don't take too long." The leader said. Suddenly the remaining two rock ninja saw Shino running in the opposite direction.

"I've got this one" the black haired rock ninja said with a smile as he rushed after Shino.

The leader saw Naruto standing alone a few meters away and rushed to finish the genin.

"Are you finally done running?" the rock ninja asked Naruto.

"Not yet." Naruto said as he turned and began to run away again.

'What is he up too?' the rock ninja thought as he rushed after him.

The rock ninja continued to chase after the leaf ninja, not realizing that they were falling further into Naruto's trap.

Finally Naruto, Shino, and Hinata stopped running and turned to face their opponents.

"Finally ready to give up? You know you can't win." The rock leader said.

"Good thing I'm not here then isn't it." Naruto smiled.

"What are you talking about? I know you're not one of the other leaf ninja as I can see through a simple henge." The rock ninja said as he rushed to attack Naruto.

Naruto took the attack with a simple word.

"Boom!" he said as he exploded.

The rock leader picked himself off of the ground and looked around, but he saw no trace of Naruto anywhere.

'What was the point of that?' he thought as he tried to rise up to his feet. Unfortunately as soon as he tried to stand he felt weak and fell to his knees.

"What's going on." He said as he looked and noticed small insects crawling on his flesh.

"You are being drained of your chakra." Shino said as he moved from behind a tree.

"Where did you come from?" the rock ninja said as he tried in vain to stand.

"You really didn't notice that we deliberately split you three apart and led you further and further away from one another? If you are the best the rock village has to offer then your village must be having some problems." Shino said calmly as he released the rest of his insect onto the helpless rock ninja.

"Your skin is nearly impenetrable because you are continually running your chakra through your skin to strengthen it. Unfortunately that makes it very easy for my insects to drain it way." Shino explained as the rock ninja passed out.

Shino walked up and looked through his cloths until he found the heaven scroll they needed.

'I hope the others are finished by now.' Shino thought as he walked to their agreed upon meeting point.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Got you now girl." The female rock ninja said as she caught up with Hinata.

Hinata turned around and gave her a big smile.

"No you don't." Naruto said as he dropped the henge that made him look like Hinata.

"What! Where's the girl." The rock ninja said.

"You should really be more worried about yourself." Naruto said as he prepared to attack.

"Ha! She could touch me and neither will you! **Earth style: stone javelin jutsu**!" she yelled.

"**Shadow clone jutsu**!" Naruto yelled as he produced dozens of clones.

The clones ran head first into the attack and while many were dispelled, a few were able to get through. This made the rock ninja rush threw more hand signs and begin another rock technique. Naruto then began to make more and more clones forcing her to continually launch attack after attack, nonstop. Needless to say that it came down to a battle of endurance and the female rock ninja soon fell to her knees in exhaustion.

Naruto walked up to her, not even slightly winded.

"H-how?" she said.

"It's simple really. You focus on long range techniques while your partners handle close range combat. That's why you kept Hinata at a distance and didn't allow her to get close to you. Your close range attacks are probably pathetic. That's why all I had to do was continue to make shadow clones until you eventually ran out of chakra. You had to continually use long range attacks because you had no way to fight them off if they got to close. Your team is very balanced as a whole, but separately your weaknesses are obvious." Naruto said.

"I'll show you!" She yelled as she rose to her feet and attacked Naruto. Naruto fell into the true dragon style and easily knocked her out.

"Well that's done; time to go see how the others are doing." Naruto said as he walked to the meeting point.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The remaining rock ninja looked at Hinata with anger. Hinata had led the rock ninja beside a small lake and was getting ready to do battle.

"Where is the bug boy? He's the one I want to kill." The rock ninja said.

"You should be more concerned about yourself." Hinata said as she activated her byakugan.

"Ha! I'll make this quick girl!" He yelled as he activated his rock armor and ran toward her.

Hinata dodged every one of his blows and jumped back to stand on the water. The rock ninja refrained from following her.

'What's the matter afraid of a little water?" Hinata taunted.

"I'm not stupid, earth techniques are useless against water, but it doesn't matter. You'll have to eventually fight me and I can wait." He said.

"Well if you won't come to me then I'll come to you. **Water style: water geysur jutsu**!" Hinata yelled as a pillar of water rose up from the lake.

"Nice water works, but how do you plan hit me?" the ninja asked with a confident smile.

"You aren't the smartest guy on your team are you?" Hinata said as she redirected the pillar of water to drench the rock ninja.

"You brat!" he yelled as he was knocked off his feet by the tower of water.

When he rose to his feet Hinata was on him and quickly dispatched him with a few well placed blows to the head and chest.

'I'm glad that's over with. I have to remember to thank Haku later for teaching me that water technique.' Hinata said as she too went to meet up with Shino and Naruto.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto and Shino looked up and saw Hinata walking toward them with a smile on her face.

"Looks like we all made it back okay, and we got our heaven scroll." Naruto said with a smile.

"Then I suggest we make our way to the tower." Shino said.

"Agreed." Hinata commented.

"Sure let's go!" Naruto said with a smile.

As team eight began their trek toward the tower they heard a scream and quickly turned to see Kiba flew past them and hit a tree and fall to the ground.

"Kiba!" Naruto yelled as they went to check on the inuzuka and his pet.

"He's okay." Hinata said after inspecting him.

"Yeah I'm fine, but I've got to get back and help the others. Their fighting a ninja I've never seen before." Kiba said as he ran full speed back the direction he came from.

Team eight suddenly felt a massive killing intent come from the direction that Kiba had run toward.

"What is that? I've never felt a presence of such evil before." Shino said.

'I don't know but if Kiba's headed in that direction then Sakura and Sasuke may be in trouble. I don't care about the rules. Leaf ninja stick together. Let's go and see if we can help them out." Naruto said as he and team eight ran in to catch up with Kiba.

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**And here's chapter 14. Sorry for taking so long, but times have been tough. My mother went to the hospital and school is brutal. I hope you liked this chapter. The next one will finally feature the snake freak. And it is not one you will want to miss. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Disclamier: Don't own Naruto**

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"Naruto-kun, who do you think they others are fighting?" Hinata asked as team eight ran to catch up with Kiba and assist team seven.

"I have no idea Hinata-chan. I have never felt such a presence in my life." Naruto replied.

"Do we have some sort of a plan? I don't think that running into an unknown enemy of such power, after coming off of a difficult battle ourselves, without a plan is a good idea." Shino commented.

"True, but we won't be able to make a plan until we know exactly who we are dealing with." Naruto said as they continued on.

'I hope we aren't biting off more than we can chew.' Naruto thought to himself as he felt a pulse from his sword.

Naruto gazed at the blade and hoped that it was telling him everything would be alright, though he doubted that that was the case.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Team eight ran towards the location of the disturbance and was instantly on guard, especially when they saw Kiba once again fly past them and smash into a tree, rendering him unconscious.

"Hinata-chan." Naruto ordered as team eight stopped to check on the inuzuka.

"Hai, byakugan." She said as she activated her bloodline limit and looked in the direction that Kiba had been blown from.

"N-Naruto-kun!" she stuttered in fear.

This instantly made Shino and Naruto tense is anxiety and a little fear. Hinata hadn't stuttered in so long that they knew that something must be wrong to startle her so badly.

"What is it Hinata?" Shino asked as the boys looked at her.

"Whoever is fighting team eight has a chakra reserve even larger then yours Naruto-kun." Hinata said with wide eyes.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief.

Naruto had always had an extremely large chakra reservoir. It was even larger then some jonin considering the constant merging of kyuubi's chakra into his own. For a genin to have a reservoir as large as his meant they were either a container like him, or at least a jonin level shinobi.

"Well, this certainly wasn't expected." Shino said.

"That's for sure, but we still have to save Sakura and Sasuke. Neither of them are ready for a ninja of that level." Naruto said as they began to move again.

"But are we?" Hinata asked.

Neither Shino nor Naruto were able to answer her.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Sakura looked at the ninja in front of them in fear. Whoever this ninja was, she was far stronger then a genin.

'A genin? She's got to be at least jonin level.' She thought in fear.

The ninja had caused them havoc from the minute she had appeared. She launched a powerful wind attack that sent Kiba flying, and then she had used some kind of genjutsu on her and Sasuke. While she had been able to break out of it thanks to the training Kurenai had given her during the wave country, as well as her own studying, and Sasuke had been able to break out of it as well, they were still in a lot of trouble. Kiba had reappeared a few moments ago but the strange genin just used the same wind technique to blow him into a tree and take him out of the fight.

"Alright, we'll give you our scroll, just leave us in peace." Sasuke said as he began to hand their scroll over.

"What are you doing?! You can't give her our scroll!" Sakura yelled.

"Shut up Sakura!" he yelled as he turned to toss the scroll to the ninja.

"A wise move. In the face of certain death, the prey must sometimes give up something of value to distract the predator." The strange ninja said with a snake-like grin.

Sasuke tossed the scroll to her, only for it to be intercepted by a black blur.

"I never thought you would be a coward Sasuke." Naruto said as he stood on a branch above them with the scroll in his hands.

"What are you doing?! This has nothing to do with you!" Sasuke yelled to Naruto.

"Well you seem very interesting. Just who are you anyway?" The ninja said with the same grin.

"You don't need to know." Naruto said simply as Hinata and Shino burst out of the leaves to stand beside Naruto.

"Well more and more mice appear for the snake." The women said as she licked her lips with an abnormally long tongue.

"Sakura hold on to this." Naruto said as he threw her the scroll.

"Are you that much of an idiot?! There's no way we can fight someone of her level. Giving her the scroll is the only way we'll get away alive." Sasuke yelled.

"That would be correct if the enemy was only interested in the scroll itself. It's very easy to see that whoever this ninja is, she isn't at all interested in the scroll, thus you would only be handing over your scroll for nothing." Shino explained simply.

"Sakura give the scroll to me!" Sasuke yelled, ignoring Shino's reasoning.

Sakura was unsure of what to do. It was obvious that this enemy was stronger than them and to fight her would be suicide. She was close to handing Sasuke the scroll in hopes that the ninja would leave after receiving it when she observed the looks on team eight's faces. They were just as afraid as she was, yet they had come to help them and looked as if they would attack the ninja if they had too. She suddenly remembered something Kakashi had told her when she had revealed to him how ashamed she was in herself for freezing up during the wave mission.

'_Just remember Sakura that true bravery doesn't mean you that are never afraid. It means that you don't allow fear to stop you from doing what's right._'

With this in mind, Sakura put the scroll in her weapons pouch, much to the satisfaction of Naruto and chagrin of Sasuke.

"Are you insane?!" Sasuke yelled in anger.

"Are you a coward?!" she yelled back just as angrily.

"As entertaining as this is, I believe it's time to get down to business." The ninja said as she rushed to attack.

Team eight moved as one to block her path.

Naruto went for a punch to the face, as Hinata attempted to strike her in the chest, and Shino went for a swiping kick. Unfortunately, none of these attacks were able to hit their mark. The ninja jumped over Shino's kick, grabbed Naruto's fist and moved him in the way of Hinata's attack, throwing him into a tree afterward. Hinata froze for a moment to long after hitting Naruto and was rewarded with a swift kick to the chest. Shino met a punch to the back of the head.

As the members of team eight rose to their feet, they were faced with the frightful knowledge that their flawless teamwork may not be enough to get them out of this situation. Nevertheless, they once again attempted to attack the ninja, with similar results.

Sasuke and Sakura could only stare as team eight attempted everything they could to defeat the ninja. The ninja was fast enough to avoid Shino's bugs, tough enough to dispel any clones Naruto made, and evasive enough that Hinata couldn't land a hit.

'This is insane! They don't stand a chance and yet they continue to fight. Why? Why are they fighting an enemy that has nothing to do with them? They didn't have to help and yet here they are ready to fight to help us.' Sasuke thought as he noticed Sakura had various shuriken and kunai out, ready to fight if she had too. The sight of her reminded him of Sakura's earlier words.

'_Are you a coward?'_

'Fighting this enemy is insane and most likely suicide, but I am always saying I'm superior, that I am the best and yet I am the only one frozen in fear. If they have the guts to fight, then shouldn't I as well?' Sasuke thought as he activated his sharingan.

Naruto was panting with exertion. This ninja was unlike any he had ever faced. She was taking them apart as if it wasn't even a challenge. No matter how they came at her, she simply rebuffed them with ease. Naruto could tell that Hinata and Shino were running out of energy.

'Maybe fighting someone of this level right after a fight wasn't the best idea.' He thought as he attempted to think of any kind of plan he could.

Currently team eight was huddled together, all panting in exhaustion and various wounds.

"I must admit that your teamwork is flawless. This has been great fun, but I think it's time to bring this to an end." The ninja said with a sinister laugh.

The ninja suddenly avoided a few shuriken that had been thrown at her back. She turned to see that Sakura had tried to attack from her blind spot.

"That wasn't a good idea." She said as she jumped onto the branch above the one that Sakura stood on.

"**Fire style: Fireball Jutsu**!"

The ninja jumped off of the branch as it was enveloped in a large ball of fire.

"Well it looks like the great Uchiha has decided to fight after all. I was expecting you to run like the scared prey you are." The ninja said with a smile as she gazed at Sasuke.

"If these losers can contend with you then so can I." Sasuke said as he prepared himself.

"I don't know whether to be grateful for his assistance or angry at the insult." Naruto said softly.

"Well then let's begin." The ninja said as she ran toward Sasuke.

"Come on he can't handle this alone." Naruto said as they went to help the Sasuke.

"Stay back! This is my fight." Sasuke said.

"Quite right. **Summoning jutsu**!" the ninja said as a huge snake appeared in front of team eight.

"Whoa!" Naruto yelled as they avoided being the giant serpent's lunch.

"Well that was surprising." Shino said calmly.

"That's a bit of an understatement Shino-san." Hinata said.

"Well it's in our way and we need to help Sasuke." Naruto said as he prepared to draw his sword.

"Wait Naruto, you should go and help Sasuke while we handle the snake." Shino said.

"Wait? And leave you two alone to fight this thing?" Naruto said in confusion.

"I'll help them." Sakura said as she jumped down beside them.

"Go Naruto-kun, you are the only one who has a chance to save Sasuke." Hinata said.

"Alright but be careful." Naruto said as he jumped to catch up with the fighting ninja.

However, the serpent appeared in front of him wait to strike when it was hit in the side by a horde of kunai, compliments of Sakura. It hissed and turned to attack them. This gave Naruto enough time to try and catch up with Sasuke and the ninja.

"Okay so how are we going to defeat the hugs snake in front of us?" Sakura asked a bit fearfully.

Shino and Hinata just looked at one another and shrugged.

"Just great." Sakura said as she lowered her head in exasperation.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto was not happy about leaving Hinata and Shino, especially when it was for Sasuke, but if he was going to be the Hokage one day then he needed to learn to help everyone in the village, regardless of who they were or what they had done to him.

He followed the burnt and destroyed trees that signified the fight that had taken place and when he saw Sasuke he was surprised to see that he had the ninja pinned to a tree with wire and unleash a powerful fire attack that went right through the thick trunk. Naruto thought that Sasuke may have done it when the ninja appeared, with half of her face melted off, in front of Sasuke. Suddenly her neck extended and she bit Sasuke in the neck, causing him to fall to his knees with a scream of agony.

Naruto had had enough and went full speed toward the ninja. However, the ninja saw him coming.

"You are a pest aren't you? **Summoning jutsu!**" the ninja said as she summoned another snake that appeared directly in Naruto's path.

'Crap!' Naruto thought as he realized that with his current momentum, he would run right into the snake's mouth.

Naruto suddenly felt the strange energy come from his sword wrap around him. The golden white glow surrounded him and unbeknownst to him, his eyes began to take a golden glow to them.

"**Dragon Strike!**" he yelled as he unleashed the serpentine dragon shaped blast that instantly incinerated the snake.

"Very impressive! I must say that you may be more fun that I had originally thought." The ninja said.

Naruto froze momentarily when he saw the ninja's burnt face. It looked as if the flesh had been burned but there was a new face under the current one. He could see that the second face was much paler and that the eye was yellow and slit like a snake's.

"What are you?" Naruto asked as he readied another Dragon Strike.

"Oh, you don't know who I am Naruto?" The ninja said with a sinister smile.

"How do you know my name?" Naruto said with a feeling of anxiety beginning to overcome him.

"I am Orochimaru." He said as he ripped the false face of revealing the true attacker.

His skin was pale, had long black hair and he had purple marks under his eyes and his eyes were snake like and yellow.

"O-Orochimaru?" Naruto said as he dropped his sword in shock.

"That's right. I have heard that you know my old apprentice. How is Anko-chan?" Orochimaru said with an evil sneer.

Naruto was in shock. Here in front of him was the man that had caused him and his nee-san so much trouble. He was the one who had betrayed Konoha, put the curse seal on his nee-san, and had given that loser Mizuki the power to almost kill his nii-san, nee-san and himself. He remembered the promise that he had made his nee-san to make this man pay for what he had done.

"I'll make you pay for what you've done!" Naruto yelled.

"Oh? And how do you plan to do that? You couldn't defeat me with your pathetic friends so what makes you think that you'll win now?" Orochimaru said with a sneer.

"Shut up." Naruto commanded.

"Why should I? You're nothing but a little brat trying to seem big and tough." Orochimaru said as he continued to anger Naruto.

"Shut Up!" Naruto yelled. He didn't notice the golden white glow leave him in place of a crimson red glow, nor did he realize that his eyes had become red with black vertical slits for pupils.

"Maybe I should visit Anko-chan before I leave. I think we would have a good reunion." He said with a smile.

"Shut Up!!" Naruto bellowed as he rushed toward Orochimaru losing any kind of rational thought. Orochimaru dodged his attacks easily. Whereas before he was using his head and the help from his teammates to cause Orochimaru some trouble, he was now attacking like a wild animal. There was no coordination in his attacks, he was simply attacking.

However, Orochimaru did notice that Naruto was gaining more of the fox's chakra as time went on and while he was sure that it wouldn't be that much of a problem for him to handle, he also knew that the sudden flux of demonic power would alert a few jonin in the tower and that could cause him some problems. He jumped over Naruto's charge and decided to end the fight.

"**Ninja art: Great breakthrough Jutsu!**" he yelled as he unleashed a gale force wind that blasted Naruto through a tree.

"Well I must say that you are very interesting Naruto-kun. I could kill you now, but I am interested in seeing how you improve in the future." He said as he turned to walk away.

Naruto pulled himself out of the rubble of the tree and cough up blood. He could feel that he had broken a rib or two and he probably had a concussion. As he struggled to regain his feet he saw Orochimaru turn his back and walk away. Naruto couldn't believe that after all that happened that he would just try and leave. Naruto felt the red chakra once again come over him as his anger grew, but he could tell that his wounds wouldn't heal in time for him to attack hand to hand. Naruto looked and saw where he had dropped his sword.

'I'll get him with the Dragon Strike.' He thought with a bitter smile as he struggled to get to his sword. He was going to make him pay for what he had done, he was going to kill him for the pain and suffering that he had caused.

Naruto picked up his blade and tried to focus on the power of the sword. He felt a distinct feeling of warning from the blade as if it was trying to warn him off of his plan, but Naruto didn't care. All that mattered was making Orochimaru pay. He wanted him to pay for what he had done. He wanted him dead!

"You shouldn't turn your back on me!" Naruto yelled as he tried to bring up the golden power, but he felt as if the blade was yelling at him not to go along with his plan and was trying to reason with him. However, Naruto refused to heed its warning.

"**Dragon Strike!**" he yelled as he tried to unleash the attack.

Unfortunately, the attack didn't work as Naruto had planned. Instead of the dragon shaped blast of power that normally appeared a huge explosion took place directly in front of him, throwing him back into a tree to lie beside the unconscious form of Sasuke.

'W-what happened? Why didn't it work?' Naruto thought as he fell unconscious.

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Hinata, Shino and Sakura were not making much progress with the serpent. The snake was smart enough to keep all three in front of it, and swift enough to block any escape route.

'What are we going to do?' Hinata thought with exhaustion as she once again jumped out of the way of the deadly snake.

She and Shino had still not completely recovered from the fight with the rock ninja and fighting Orochimaru was draining as well. They were both a bit low on chakra and needed a plan. She looked at Sakura and saw that she was, for the most part, still fresh and ready to fight. She remembered that Kurenai-sensei had told them that they both had the chakra control to use genjutsus very efficiently. While Hinata had shied away from them in favor of more direct attacks, she hoped that Sakura had at least begun to study a few genjutsu. She threw a few smoke bombs and led the others behind a tree to come up with a plan.

"Sakura, do you know any genjutsu?" Hinata asked as they regrouped.

"I studied up on a few when we got back and can actually do a few, why?" Sakura asked.

"I have a plan." Hinata replied.

"I suggest you tell us swiftly, before the snake realizes where we are." Shino said with heavy breaths.

"Alright here's what I have in mind." Hinata said.

The snake looked around for its prey after the smoke had dispersed. While they were out of sight, the snake could still taste their scent in the air and began to creep toward their hiding place.

It broke through the tree they were hiding behind and was instantly blinded for a moment. It swiftly regained its composure and saw one of its prey, the male, limping away. It instantly forgot about the others and attacked what it saw as the weakest kill. It swiftly swallowed the male and turned to the screaming females ready to end the game of cat and mouse.

Before it could strike again, however, it felt as if it's insides were being attacked and it began to slither and thrash to try and alleviate the pain, but nothing it tried worked.

Hinata looked as the snake thrashed for the last time before it lay still and dispersed back to wherever it came from.

"I can't believe that it worked!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yes that was very clever Hinata, Naruto would be proud." Shino said.

"It was a team effort." Hinata said as she smiled at their praise.

The plan had been very simple. As soon as the snake had revealed itself, Sakura had caste a genjutsu that momentarily blinded the snake as well as slightly affecting its sense of smell. Once the snake had reoriented itself it had no idea that its sense of smell had been tampered with as it as it only experienced the genjutsu that messed with its sight. It attacked Shino not knowing that it was swallowing a bug clone of his. It would have been able to tell the difference if its sense of smell was working properly, but thanks to the distraction by the blinding genjutsu, it failed to realize it had fallen into a trap. This clone dispersed inside of it and the insects proceeded to attack all of the snake's internal organs before it could realize its mistake.

"Well I'm glad that's done, but I wonder how Naruto and Sasuke are doing." Sakura said.

They all then heard a huge explosion in the distance.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled as she ran full speed in the direction of the explosion.

Shino and Sakura were right behind her.

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Hinata wasn't the only one who was rushing to find the blonde shinobi. Anko was also moving full speed through the jungle.

She had been minding her own business, enjoying some dango when she had been alerted to a problem. Someone had come across three dead genin, one of which had her face taken off. After Anko had seen this she told a chunin to alert the Hokage immediately and had run full speed into the forest.

'There's only one person who would do something like this, and that's you Orochimaru!' She thought as she continued to race through the forest looking for her little brother as well as signs of her old sensei. She just hoped that she didn't find both at the same time.

'I hope you're okay little brother.' She thought as she tried to increase her speed.

"Well hello Anko-chan."

Anko felt like she was dunked in a tub of ice water when she halted and turned face to face with her old sensei.

"Orochimaru." She said with an acidic voice. Her memories began to come back from the sight of the sannin. She remembered how she had trusted him, believed in him, and thought of him as a father. Then he betrayed her, put the curse seal on her and left her like trash.

"Why are you here?" She snarled in anger.

"Oh I was just inspecting an interesting new subject. He will be the catalyst for my ambition. He also has much more potential than you Anko-chan." He said is a sweetly sickening voice.

Anko readied herself to attack when she felt a piercing pain erupt from the curse seal. She fell to her knees in agony.

"Now now I haven't come to fight you. I just want to catch up with my former apprentice." He said as he knelt beside her.

The pain was intense enough to keep her from responding with words, but she did give him a glare that could have killed with its intensity.

"My you still have so much hate in you. I would have thought that you would have gotten over it now that you have started training the kyuubi container." He said.

He began to laugh at her when he saw her surprised look.

"You disappoint me Anko. Did you really think that I wouldn't notice some of his techniques and attack patterns as the same ones I once taught you?" he said with a smile.

"And I must say that the hyuga is improving in the serpent style even better than you. Maybe I should go back and give her and the kyuubi boy the seal. They both impressed me." He said as his smile became even more sinister.

"L-leave t-them a-alone." She stuttered through the pain.

"You truly seem to care about that group don't you? Very interesting." He said as he rose to his feet and began to walk away.

"C-come back!" Anko said as she somehow found the strength to stand.

"Don't worry I have no plans to give them the seal. I have had my fun and I think that I will sit back and watch as things begin to unfold. I wonder how my new subject will handle his curse seal. You haven't been able to activate it yet but then again yours is different from all others." He said as he disappeared.

Once he disappeared the pain receded enough for Anko to begin moving again. She hated the fact that he was able to take any chance she had at revenge by activating her seal.

'What did he mean that mine was different from all others?' she thought as she began to move full speed toward the tower. She had to alert the Hokage about Orochimaru and about him placing a seal on one of the genin. Though most of the pain had left she was still weak and wouldn't be any help to anyone unless she could regain her strength, Naruto would have to wait.

'Sorry Naruto but you'll have to fend for yourself; I hope you're alright and that you make it to the tower.' She thought as she moved as fast as her pain raked body would allow her to.

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Naruto awoke to the sound of water. He stood up and found himself standing in a dark sewer.

'Where the heck am I?' He thought as he looked around. The last thing he remembered was trying to launch the Dragon Strike at Orochimaru when he felt as if he was burning from the inside out.

He was ripped out of his thoughts when he heard a growl in the sewer. It didn't sound human and while Naruto was a bit unnerved by it, his curiosity was getting the better of him. He walked through the sewer, slightly surprised that he seemed to know exactly where he was going. His journey came to an end when he found himself standing in front of a huge gate with massive bars that seemed to be held closed by a single stripe of paper that had the kanji for the word seal on it. Naruto walked up to the gate to try and peer into the darkness inside when a large growl emanated from within the gate.

Naruto jumped back when two large eyes opened in front of him. They were blood red and the pupils were slit vertically. The rest of the monstrous figure came into the light and Naruto found himself face to face with a fox with nine-tails. The fox had an odd expression on its face. It seemed to be trying to understand Naruto's presence in this place. The beast focused on him and then closed its eyes and adopted a look as if it was in deep thought. After a while it opened them and its gaze fell on Naruto with a growl. Naruto felt true fear for the first time in his life at the sight of those eyes. It wasn't a rational fear as Naruto had already come to the conclusion that he was facing the kyuubi and the fox was no danger to him behind the seal. Yet he found himself frozen in place by the uncontrollable rage, anger and hatred that he saw in the demon's eyes. The killing intent that was rolling off of the kyuubi made every heated look ever sent his way seem like loving gazes. It made Zabuza's killing intent feel like a warm kiss. This killing intent was so massive that Naruto was surprised that his heart hadn't stopped.

"**You are an idiot!" **it snarled at Naruto with rage.

"W-what?" Naruto said in confusion as he tried to compose himself.

"**I said that you are an idiot! What possessed you to do what you did?**" it asked.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"**You are only verifying my earlier statement with your stupidity.**" The fox said in a condescending tone.

This finally knocked Naruto completely out of his fear and he became annoyed.

"Listen I don't know what you are talking about, but you can either continue to insult me or you tell me what the heck is going on!" Naruto yelled.

The fox looked at Naruto for a moment in an expression close to disbelief.

"**You have really no idea what you have just done do you?**" it asked in a disbelieving voice.

"Obviously." Naruto said as the last bit of fear left him. Whatever the fox was going to do didn't seem to involve killing him, yet.

"**You** **almost killed yourself, and me along with you!**" it said in anger.

"What?!" Naruto yelled with a bit of panic as he tried to assess whether he was dead or not.

"**Calm down! Like I said you **_**almost**_** killed yourself.**" It said as it began to calm down again.

"Alright then tell me how I almost killed myself so I don't do it again." Naruto said.

"**I can't believe that you would use a weapon without fully knowing its capabilities.**" The kyuubi said.

Naruto was confused by its statement until he remembered the last time that the mysterious man had told him that kyuubi would have the answers he would need.

"Tell me what you know about all of this." Naruto said. He had gone too long without an explanation about what was going on and he felt he was finally getting the answers he wanted.

"**Fine, if only so that you won't do something so stupid again."** The fox said as it seemed to lie down on the ground and looked at the tiny human in front of it.

"**Here's what you should know about that sword of yours.**" Kyuubi said.

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**Here's chapter 15. Yes next chapter you will learn what kyuubi knows about Naruto's sword and about the strange occurrence that happened when he tried to use it. Sasuke has the seal, Naruto is unconscious, Hiniata and Shino are both completely worn out, and I think that some sound ninja may be coming soon. Till next time, **Kyuubi123** out.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto**

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Naruto looked at the giant fox with a bit of annoyance. He had decided to sit down and listen to what the Kyuubi had to say, but instead of talking the fox had its eyes closed and looked to be asleep.

"Hey are you going to tell me or take a nap?!" Naruto yelled when his patience wore thin.

The fox's eyes suddenly opened and Naruto was once again fixed with a deadly stare.

"**Shut Up!**" the fox growled.

"**I am trying to figure out the best way to explain all of this. I don't want to hear you mouth!**" the Kyuubi snarled.

"I don't have all day so if you wouldn't mind." Naruto said, trying to calm himself down. Arguing wouldn't get him the answers he wanted.

"**As you probably know there are demonic and divine beings. Most people think that angels are the only divine beings under kami's command but they are only the messengers. The fighters are the dragons. Dragons are the beings that kami sends when power, not peace, is needed.**" The fox said.

"How do you know all of this?" Naruto asked after absorbing what was spoken to him.

"**I'm the strongest of all the demons, so of course I have fought with the dragons many times before. Unlike you humans, dragons actual put up a fight.**" The fox said with a sneer.

"And who is the one who was beaten and sealed away by a human?" Naruto responded with a sneer of his own.

Kyuubi growled in annoyance but couldn't dispute the claim.

"**Anyway, it's very rare that dragons have been needed in the human realm, thus their existence has faded into fictional lore.**" Kyuubi said.

"Rarely needed? What about you and all of those other demons that are running around?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"**As you can see by the circumstance that I am in, demon's are not all powerful, we can be sealed and controlled in different ways.**" The fox said with a bit of annoyance at having to state its vulnerabilities.

"Alright then back to the sword." Naruto said wanting the fox to stop beating around the bush.

"**It's a beacon.**" The fox said simply.

"A beacon, what do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"**Your sword was forged by the divine beings to be used if the need of dragons were ever necessary in the human realm.**" The fox explained.

"Couldn't kami simply send them when ever it's necessary?" Naruto asked.

"**Kami normally allows you humans to do things your own ways, and suffer the consequences yourself. However, Kami is always watching and if the blade has once again fallen into the possession of a human then that means that there will be a use for it in the future.**" The fox said.

"So why was I the one chosen to wield it?" Naruto asked, suddenly feeling very humble.

"**I have no idea, but I must say that if your past actions with it are anything to go by then Kami better find another human to use the blade.**" Kyuubi said accusingly.

"Just what did I do that almost killed me?" Naruto asked in exasperation.

"**You tried to use demonic chakra with divine chakra!**" Kyuubi bellowed, causing Naruto to flinch.

"**Those two chakras are naturally opposing forces and you tried to use them together. Needless to say that the results are explosive at best.**" Kyuubi said.

"So the reason that I felt like I was being burnt from the inside was because the two chakras were fighting each other inside my chakra coils." Naruto said in understanding.

"**Maybe you aren't as stupid as I originally thought.**" The mighty demon said, though Naruto couldn't tell whether it was being sarcastic or not.

"So why did you attack konoha?" Naruto asked.

"**Why do you ask? Most would assume that I did because I am a demon. Why would I need a reason?**" the kyuubi asked.

"Maybe, but I don't by it. According to the history you ran rampant like a wild mindless beast. From what I can see you would at least have been gloating as you destroyed us." Naruto said seriously.

The demon fox looked at him in surprise before it snorted.

"**Maybe I will tell you later, anyway it seems that you need to leave. Your pack is in trouble.**" The fox said dismissively.

Naruto looked at the fox in confusion.

"Pack what are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"**Your mate and the boy with insects, they are fighting and don't appear to be winning.**" The fox said as it closed its eyes.

'Mate? What's he mean by that?' Naruto thought, though he shock it off to find out what he meant by his friends being in trouble.

"How do you know this?" Naruto asked.

"**I am aware of what happens outside of your body as I can sense the different chakra levels. Anyway you need to leave and if you ever need it you may use my chakra.**" The fox said.

"That's very kind of you. What's the catch?" Naruto asked with suspicion.

"**No catch as you will need something to give you an edge in the upcoming future.**" The fox replied.

"What about my sword? It's always helped me whenever I needed it." Naruto protested.

"**That's assuming you can still use it.** **Now leave!**" the fox roared as Naruto felt as if he was being flung from the sewer.

'**That brat certainly is interesting. I can see why **_**he**_** gave him the sword. Though I wonder if he will ever be able to use it again.**' Kyuubi thought as it closed its eyes to rest.

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Naruto woke up to a battle field. He saw Hinata, Shino, and Sakura in fights with the three sound ninja from the earlier part of the exam. Hinata was fighting the man who was wrapped like a mummy and had a strange metal device on his arm. Shino was facing a sound ninja with spiky black hair, a camouflage outfit and he seemed to be blasting wind out of his arms. Sakura was facing the female sound ninja with long black hair. Naruto could tell that the fights were not in his friends' favor.

Hinata was panting and was on her knees grasping her ears.

Shino's left arm seemed to be injured, and he was dodging more than attacking.

He looked over to Sakura and saw that she was standing over Rock Lee, who looked like he had been beaten up as well. Kiba was already injured and could only watch from a safe distance.

Naruto noticed Sasuke was lying beside him, still unconscious, but this didn't matter to him. Naruto created shadow clones to help Sakura and Shino, and then he raced over to Hinata and kicked the mummy looking sound ninja in the head.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said in obvious relief as she feel into his arms from exhaustion.

"It's okay now Hinata-chan. I'll take care of the rest." He said with a soft smile as she smiled back and passed out.

"So you finally woke up. Your girlfriend put up a good fight, but she was no match for me." The mummy looking sound ninja said.

Naruto looked at him and the sound ninja was stunned to be looking into two blood red eyes.

"You'll pay for that!" Naruto said with conviction as he prepared himself.

Sakura and Shino came up behind him and both looked completely worn out. Sakura had Rock Lee with her.

"I'm surprised Shino. I thought you would have been able to handle them." Naruto said as he looked at his friend in confusion.

"We were attacked immediately after we found you and Sasuke unconscious. We were able to get the two of you to a defensibly position and then had to fight." Shino explained.

"What can you tell me what you can about them?" Naruto asked.

Before Shino could comment, Neji Hyuga and Tenten appeared above the genin in the trees.

"What's going on here?" Tenten asked as she noticed Lee's unconscious form.

"What did that to him?" Neji asked calmly.

"We did! What are you planning on doing about it?" The spiky black haired sound ninja asked with a vicious smirk.

"Nothing, it's been taken out of my hands." Neji said as he gazed at the spot where Sasuke lay.

All of the genin looked over and saw Sasuke rise. However, there was something different about him. He had black flame like marking spreading all over his body. The chakra he was giving off was purple in color and it felt foul.

'What the heck is going on?' Naruto thought as he saw a sadistic smile appear on Sasuke's face.

"This power. It feels good." Sasuke said as he turned to the sound ninja.

"Ha like you can do anything to us. **Slicing Sound waves!**" the black haired male sound ninja said as he turned his arms toward Sasuke.

Two huge forces of wind blasted from the palms of his hands and destroyed the tree that Sasuke was in front of.

"Ha, was that supposed to hit me?" Sasuke said as he appeared behind the ninja and kicked him in the head. The ninja flew back and would have hit a tree if Sasuke didn't appear behind him in an insane burst of speed and punched him in the head. Sasuke grabbed placed his foot on the back of the genin and grabbed one of his arms. He seemed to take please in breaking it like a twig.

All of the genin present, with exception to Naruto and Neji, flinched at the snapping sound as Sasuke broke the genin's other arm and seemed prepared to kill him.

"That's enough Sasuke! You have already won, let him go!" Naruto yelled in anger. Enemy or not, no one deserved to be tortured needlessly.

"Shut up dobe! I have this power and I'm going to use it!" He yelled as he ran toward the other two sound ninja, who were paralyzed in fear in the face of such power.

'This is amazing! I feel so strong. Whatever that man, Orochimaru, did to me must be the cause.' Sasuke thought as he raced toward the sound ninja, only for Naruto to appear in front of him.

"Stand aside!" Sasuke yelled.

"No." Naruto said calmly.

"Fine then, I always wanted to fight you dobe and I guess this is as good a time as any." Sasuke said with an evil smile as he readied himself.

"I'm not going to fight you Uchiha." Naruto said.

"You don't have a choice!" Sasuke yelled as he punched Naruto in the chest.

Naruto grabbed onto his wrist and said one word.

"Boom!"

Naruto exploded and Sasuke was thrown back into a tree. While this didn't knock him unconscious, it did break his concentration and the strange black marks disappeared as he grabbed his shoulder in pain.

The mummy sound ninja took out his heaven scroll and placed it on the ground.

"Here we will give this to you and cease our attack if you let us go." He said.

Naruto took stock and realized that it was for the best. While he was sure they could have defeated them, there would be no way to do it with taking unnecessary injuries. Besides, he wanted to make sure that Hinata and Lee were okay.

"Fine, but if we see you again then all bets are off." Naruto said still upset that he had been the one to hurt Hinata.

"Fine by me." The sound ninja said as he collected his injured comrade and they left.

"Don't get in my way next time!" Sasuke said in anger.

"Shut up." Naruto said as he picked Hinata up and started to walk away.

"Shino let's go." Naruto said.

"Thanks for the help Naruto." Sakura said sincerely as she focused on helping Lee.

"See you in the tower." He said as Lee's team jumped down to check on him.

Naruto's gaze fell on Neji and he saw that he was staring at Hinata with a look of disgust on his face. This riled Naruto up and he glared at Neji when the Hyuga made eye contact with him. Neji's expression became a smirk of superiority as he turned away from him.

'I hope I get a chance at you Neji Hyuga.' Naruto thought as team eight limped toward a place to rest up.

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Team seven watched as Rock Lee's team left them to head toward the tower. Sakura still remembered Lee's parting words to her.

"_Sakura-chan the hidden lotus blooms twice the next time we meet I will be a stronger ninja and I will not fail to protect you."_

He had said that with his usual bright smile and Sakura couldn't help but feel grateful to him. He had saved her life.

**(Flashback)**

Sakura, Hinata, and Shino had just found Naruto and Sasuke laying unconscious when Kiba had arrived, limping and cradling Akamaru.

"I feel that three ninja are approaching." Shino said.

"This is just great! We just finish fighting a tough opponent and then three more come, this isn't fair." Kiba said in anger.

"I think we should stick together for the moment." Hinata said as she held Naruto's head in her lap.

"Let's find a defensibly position to put Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba." Shino said.

"Hey, I don't need your pity and I am just fine!" Kiba said with a growl to Shino.

"No you are not and I refuse to have anyone get hurt because of your thick headedness. " Shino said in a stern tone that left no room for an argument.

Kiba looked unhappy but he said nothing.

The two teams arrived at a small cave and placed Naruto and Sasuke on the ground as Kiba leaned against a wall.

"They are coming." Shino said as he looked off into the distance.

Things didn't look good. Shino and Hinata were close to complete chakra exhaustion after the two previous fights and while Sakura was still mostly fresh, she wouldn't be able to take on three opponents at once.

"I have an idea." Sakura said as Shino and Hinata looked at her.

When the three sound genin came upon the group they noticed that all three looked to be ready to fight.

"Come and get us!' Sakura said, silently hoping her plan worked.

"Wait." The one with wrapping said.

"Why should we Dosu?" the female said.

"Look closely Kin. They have set a trap for us." He said as he pointed to a patch of earth that looked to be recently upturned.

"Ha that's pathetic, like they could surprise us." The spiky haired male said.

"Shut up Zaku! We should never underestimate an opponent." Dosu said.

The three sound genin jumped over the trap, just as Sakura wanted. She cut a string close to her and the three sound genin saw a huge log coming up behind them.

'A double trap!' Dosu thought as he placed his metal encased arm up to the huge log. He focused and the log suddenly burst into tiny slivers of wood from his sound attack.

The three sound genin landed on the ground and looked at the leaf genin with evil smiles.

"You really thought that would work on us?" Zaku asked.

Suddenly all three leaf genin disappeared as the three sound genin's sense of sight became distorted.

Zaku flew back when he felt a punch hit him in the jaw.

Kin felt someone kick her from behind, but she couldn't see anyone.

Dosu closed his eyes and listened to footsteps rushing toward his left side. He timed it perfectly and caught the foot that he heard swing toward his head. He threw the enemy he couldn't see and suddenly focused his chakra.

"Kai!" he said as the genjustu dissipated.

His sight returned to normal and he saw that the pink haired girl had been the one who had tried to attack him. He turned and threw a few kunai and shuriken at Hinata and Shino, forcing both to abandon their attacks on the other two sound ninja who had failed to release themselves from the genjutsu. He rushed over and quickly released them. He then turned to the leaf genin.

"I must say that I am impressed. You laid a triple trap. First the obvious one that we were sure to discover, then the hidden one with the huge log, and finally you had a genjustu waiting for us after our attention was diverted to the log. Very impressive, it may have worked except for a one thing. I am a sound ninja, thus once I realized that I was in a genjutsu I simply closed my eyes and listened for your footsteps. You should have affected our eyesight as well as our ears." Dosu explained as Zaku and Kin looked at the genin in hatred for being tricked twice.

Dosu saw that Sakura looked very winded.

'A genjustu used on three different opponents at the same time is impressive but it does take a fair amount of chakra. She seemed to be the freshest a moment ago so she must be the one who cast the genjustu.' Dosu thought.

"The pink one is mine!" He yelled as he ran toward Sakura.

Hinata and Shino attempted to get in the way, but Hinata had to dodge the senbon needles Kin threw at her and Shino was caught in Zaku's sound blast technique.

Sakura was left alone in the face of a superior ninja.

'This guy is way too strong for me! He was able to see threw my genjustu so quickly and now I am low on chakra. Three separate genjustus used at once are tough. What am I going to do?' She thought as Dosu was almost upon her.

"**Konoha senpu!**"

Sakura looked up as a green blur appeared and hit Dosu with a spin kick to the head.

"Just who are you?" Dosu said as he rose to his feet.

"I am Konoha's beautiful green beast. I am Rock Lee." Lee said while in his goken taijutsu stance.

"Lee-san why are you here?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Sakura-chan, I told you that I would protect you with my life. Regardless if you choose to be my girlfriend or not I will always protect you." He said with a smile.

Sakura was stunned by this. Here was someone who barely knew her and yet was so willing to put himself in danger's way for her. She felt bad, she didn't think that Lee deserved to put himself in a fight that he had no part of for her sake.

"Lee-san stop! This isn't your fight, and I don't want you to get hurt because of me I'm not worth it." She said trying to make him see reason.

"I am sorry Sakura-chan, but I have already pledge my life to protect you if you ever needed it and I will not go back on that promise." Lee said as he ran to fight Dosu.

Sakura was stunned by Lee's speed.

'He's so fast and strong! He's much faster than Naruto or Sasuke.' She thought as Lee began to land blow after blow on Dosu.

Dosu was irritated by Lee's assault. He was nowhere near fast enough to handle Lee's freakish speed.

'I need a plan fast!' He thought as he saw Sakura gapping at their battle.

'That's it!' He thought as he maneuvered himself away from Lee. Lee ran at him when Dosu unleashed a few kunai and shuriken at him. Lee easily dodged but Dosu just smiled.

"You sure you want to do that?" he asked as he continued to look at his target.

Lee followed Dosu's gaze and realized that Dosu's target was not him but Sakura.

"Sakura-chan look out!" Lee yelled as he pushed her out of the way.

Sakura found herself under Lee and couldn't help but gaze at him in wonder.

'He was willing to almost get hit just for me.' Sakura thought. She had never had someone put themselves in harm's way just for her and was confused by the rush of emotion she began to feel.

Lee turned around to continue the battle, only to see that Dosu was in front of him and swung his arm that held the metal weapon. While Lee was able to dodge the attack, he suddenly felt very dizzy.

"You feel that? That's the ability of my sound gauntlet. It doesn't matter if you dodge the blow as it releases sound waves that enter your ear and mess with your equilibrium." Dosu said as Lee fell to his knees.

"Lee-kun!" Sakura yelled as she rushed to his side.

Dosu took this minute to see how his teammates were doing. Zaku was doing well against the boy, but Kin seemed to having trouble with the girl. She seemed far too agile for Kin to hit with her special senbon needles. He looked at Sakura and Lee and made a decision.

'These two are almost out of it. I'll let Kin deal with them and take the girl.' He thought.

"Kin switch with me!" He yelled as he ran to fight Hinata.

"Lee-kun are you okay?" Sakura asked.

"I-I will be a-alright Sakura-chan, as long as you are o-okay." He said trying to pull off a smile.

'There has to something I can do.' she thought. Lee had gotten hurt because she was too distracted by his fight to even consider that the enemy would use her as a diversion.

"Pathetic." Kin said as she walked up to Sakura.

"You give kunoichi a bad name. At least the other girl was a challenge. You look like you are going to a fashion show with those bright pink cloths and silky long hair." She added.

Sakura prepared herself for a fight, only to have Lee somehow rise to his feet and place himself between Kin and Sakura.

"You will have to go through me first." Lee said with a pant. His eyesight and equilibrium were still being affected by the sound attack.

"Lee-kun you have done enough let me take over." She pleaded.

Lee gave her a smile as he turned and ran to fight Kin. However, with his equilibrium off he was not as quick as before, though he somehow was still able to get to her quickly and began to fight her. He's moves were sluggish and Kin was able to dodge a few. She jumped back and threw a few senbon at him. He dodged many but a few hit him in the arm. He didn't pay them any attention until he noticed the bells attached to the end of them. His vision warped and he passed out.

"Lee-kun!" Sakura yelled as she ran to him.

"What did you do?" Sakura asked.

"I attached belles to the ends of my needles so that when they hit someone they ring, which allows me to put my opponent under a simple genjutsu." She said with a smile.

'I won't allow her to hurt Lee-kun anymore. I don't care what happens to me. I will defend him.' Sakura thought as she prepared to fight.

**(End Flashback)**

After that Naruto's clone had appeared. Sakura took a lot from the fight. She knew that she had improved, but she suddenly saw that she had a long way to go.

'I hope Lee-kun is okay.' Sakura thought, still oblivious to the added -kun at the end of his name.

As team seven stopped for the night, Sakura got up and went to a nearby stream. She looked at her reflection for a moment before she took out a kunai and began to cut her long hair.

'I will become stronger so that no one else will ever have to get hurt because if my inability to fight.' She thought as she dropped the cut hair into the river and watched it flow away. To Sakura this was a symbol of her leaving her past behind and looking forward to the future.

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Team eight had stopped for the night as well. While Naruto felt completely restored, Shino and Hinata were completely drained. As soon as they had stopped, Shino had literally fallen asleep on the spot. Hinata still hadn't woken up yet, but Naruto knew that she was okay, she was just completely exhausted.

'Still, if I see that mummy looking freak again. I will make him pay for hurting Hinata-chan.' Naruto thought as he looked at her peaceful face. He moved a bit of her blue hair out of her face. She had recently begun to grow out her hair and Naruto had to admit that he thought she looked good with it long.

Naruto wouldn't allow himself to sleep as the others needed it much more. Instead he thought on everything that the Kyuubi had told him. Naruto drew his sword and was instantly aware of a few changes.

It had seemed to lose the silver like shine to it and the two dragon heads at the opposing ends of the hand guard were different. Whereas before they had their eyes and mouths open, as if they were wording off an attack, now their eyes and mouths were closed as if they were asleep.

He suddenly remembered that Kyuubi had alluded to the chance that he wouldn't be able to use his sword. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to sense something from his sword. However, he felt nothing at all. Naruto suddenly realized that he felt like a part of himself was missing. He couldn't describe it completely but it felt like something that he never knew he had was suddenly gone. He sighed in frustration.

'I wonder why it won't respond.' Naruto thought as he sheathed the blade. He would have to figure it out later now he was just going to enjoy the peace and quiet. He had a feeling that it wouldn't last long.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Team eight appeared at the entrance of the tower fully refreshed.

"Alright part two is over. It wasn't that hard." Naruto said with a smile.

"You mean expect for the fight with Orochimaru, and the three sound ninja that almost killed us?" Shino asked.

"Exactly." Naruto said with the same smile as they all walked into the tower.

They opened the two scrolls and Iruka suddenly appeared.

"Nii-san? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"I'm here to congratulate you three on making it through the second part of the exam. Come on you three are the third team to arrive." He said as the genin followed him.

They walked into large room that had rails along the side for spectators and saw that the sand team as well as team ten was already present.

"So you guys made it." Shikamaru said lazily.

"Yeah we would have been first but we ran into some trouble." Naruto responded.

"Have you seen Sasuke-kun!" Ino yelled as she pushed Shikamaru aside.

Naruto's face darkened and before he could comment he felt a large killing intent focused on him. He turned and was met with the stone cold glare of Gaara. Hinata and Shino noticed the intent and were about to comment on it until Naruto gave them a gesture to ignore it. He didn't want Gaara focused on anyone but him.

The genin waited until the rest of the teams arrived. The sound team arrived next and the temperature lowered noticeably between the sound ninja and team eight. Rock Lee's team arrived and Lee seemed to have recovered from his injuries. Team seven arrived with Kabuto's team.

Naruto and Sasuke stared each other down with open hostility until Naruto was forcibly pulled into a head lock by Anko.

She seemed to be trying to inspect him for any injuries.

"Are you okay Naruto?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"I'm fine nee-san." Naruto said as Anko finally let him go.

"Good." She said as she hit him on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Naruto asked.

"That's for making me worry so much about you. Who told you to take on Orochimaru!" She yelled in a voice that was mixture of anger and concern.

"I had to help team seven out." Naruto said seriously.

"We didn't ask for your help." Sasuke muttered with a wince of pain. Sakura and Kiba looked at him in concern, but he gave them a look that told them to drop it.

"Thanks again for helping us Naruto." Sakura said.

"No problem Sakura. I'm just glad that we all made it out okay." Naruto said as he gave her new hairstyle a strange look.

"I'm proud of you guys." Kurenai said as she and the jonin instructors of the remaining team showed up.

"Kurenai-sensei what are doing here?" Hinata asked.

"I can explain that." Said a jonin as he walked into the center of the stadium. He wore the standard jonin outfit except he had a sword on his back and he looked very pale. He seemed to be sick as he was constantly coughing.

"I want to first congratulate all those that have passed the second exam. My name is Gekkou Hayate and I will be the proctor for the third part of the exam." He said with a cough.

"Your jonin instructors are here because there will be a preliminary fight before the beginning of the third exam." He said.

"What! That's not fair! We just got done getting through that stupid jungle. Why do we need a preliminary?" Kiba growled in annoyance.

"I will answer that Haytate." The third Hokage said as he entered the arena and sat down in a chair overlooking the stadium floor.

"The reason that there will be a preliminary is because there are too many of you still here. The purpose of the chunin exams is not only to promote new chunin but to show the power of each village's best genin to the masses. The real third exam will host leaders from all over the land who will come to see the best of the young generation of each village. This will determine who they go to for missions and it also deters wars. Thus, we don't want to waste their time with too many fights or fights between weak genin." The third said as he saw understanding appear on each of the genin's faces.

"Now then, before we begin does anyone want to quit?" Hayate asked.

"I give up. I barely made it through the second portion, and I know that I won't win here." Kabuto said as he turned to leave.

Naruto looked at him strangely. He felt that Kabuto was hiding something.

"Anyone else?" Hayate asked. When he saw that no one else seemed ready to leave then he nodded and turned everyone's attention to a screen that was picking two names randomly.

"Whoever's name is shown on the screen will have to fight and the winner will go on to the next part of the exam." Hayate said as the screen chose two names.

"Match number one will be: Naruto Uzumaki vs Dosu." He said.

'Well it seems that I will get to fight this guy after all.' Naruto thought with a smile as he turned to go down the stairs and begin his fight.

"Do your best Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

Naruto gave her a confident smile and headed down to the stadium floor.

He saw Dosu standing there and they shared a glare as they got into position.

"This fight will go on until one or both of you are incapacitated. I have the final say so if I tell you to stop then you will stop, understood?" Hayate asked.

When he received their nods of conformation he raised his hand.

"Begin!" he said as he lowered his hand.

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**Here's chapter 16. The prelims are about to start and I have quite a few surprises for you all. So you now know a bit about Naruto's sword, but have I told you everything? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Preliminaries**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto**

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Naruto looked very eager to be fighting Dosu as he had a smile on his face that would have made Anko proud.

"You're going to pay for what you did to my friends freak." Naruto said as he prepared himself.

"Big words for such a short brat." Dosu taunted as he drew his long sleeve back to show the sound gauntlet on his arm.

"Begin!" Hayate said.

Naruto jumped back as he warily gazed at Dosu. Hinata and Shino had told him all he needed to know about his opponent.

'This guy is deadly up close. He doesn't even have to hit me to take me out.' He thought.

"What's the matter? I thought you were going to make me pay for what I did." Dosu said.

"**Shadow clone jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as two clones came into existence.

Naruto watched as the clones circled around Dosu looking for an opening. Dosu was standing still, simply observing. The clones then went in to attack. One went to sweep his legs out while the second tried to hit him in the face. Dosu calmly jumped over the kick and blocked the punch on his gauntlet. The clone that attempted to punch him was stunned when his eyesight became blurred. The clone dispersed and Dosu threw a few shuriken at the clone that had tried to kick his feet out. He calmly landed stunning Naruto with his efficient moves and with the new information he received about the gauntlet.

'So he can affect an enemy just by having them strike the gauntlet? That means my sword is out.' Naruto thought in frustration.

"Is that it?" Dosu said in boredom.

Naruto looked to be in deep thought as he made his mind up.

"**Shadow clone jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as the stadium became filled with hundreds of clones.

"Sometimes the direct approach is the best one." Naruto said with confidence as the other contestants, with exception to his team, were stunned at the number of clones.

"H-how can he make so many?!" Choji stammered as he dropped his bag of chips.

"I have no idea." Shikamaru replied lazily, though if one were to look closely they would see a look of interest cross his face.

Most of the genin were highly impressed, except for three. Neji, Sasuke, and Gaara were looking on in indifference, jealousy, and chilly interest, respectively.

"What do you plan to do now freak." Naruto said with a smile as the clones all attacked.

Dosu pulled up his other sleeve to reveal a second sound gauntlet on his other arm. As the clones came close he began to spin around with his arms spread wide. A low ringing sound began to spread and all of the clones were dispersed from the amplified sound attack.

After the smoke cleared, Naruto looked up to see that Dosu was in rushing toward him. He quickly threw a kunai at the sound ninja, but Dosu simply turned his head to the side to avoid the weapon. Dosu got close to Naruto and swung his right arm forward, only for Naruto to grab onto it.

"I'm impressed that you can make so many clones, but that won't change anything." Dosu said as Naruto began to feel the effect of the sound attack.

"Even though you grabbed my fist, all I need to happen for my attack to succeed is for air to pass through my gauntlet." Dosu explained as he prepared to swing his left arm down.

"Boom!" Naruto yelled as he exploded.

Dosu was thrown back but quickly righted himself. He noticed that the sound gauntlet on his right arm was cracked and damaged.

Naruto burst out of the ground and looked at his opponent with a smile.

"Impressive kid, but you should have focused your blast on me and not my weapon." Dosu said as he ran toward Naruto with his left arm and gauntlet raised high in the air.

Naruto didn't move at all, he simply waited.

Dosu reached his target and was about to swing his arm down.

"**Hidden shadow snakes!**"

Dosu was shocked to see snakes wrap around his left arm and stop it from swinging toward Naruto. He turned around to see another Naruto behind him and realized that this was the one who had paused his attack. He realized too late that the single kunai Naruto threw at him was never meant to hit him at all. It was a clone henged as a kunai and he had given it the perfect position to launch a surprise attack, right behind him.

Naruto punched the sound ninja in the face as the clone pulled him back. The added blow launched him back. The clone ducked, though it didn't release the snakes, and Dosu flew over its head and slammed into the wall.

"Time to end this. **Shadow clone jutsu**!" Naruto yelled as two clones appeared.

The original clone pulled the still stunned ninja forward as the real Naruto spring boarded off of the clone's back and flew up toward the ceiling, where he clung with his feet with the aid of his chakra control.

The original clone ducked as Dosu came toward it as one of the clones Naruto made punched him in the face.

"**U!**" it yelled as Dosu was thrown backward toward the wall again.

However the second clone Naruto made was there waiting and kicked him the back.

"**ZU!**" it said.

Dosu once again found himself being pulled toward the original clone, but this time it stayed standing and kneed him in the chest.

"**Ma!**" it yelled as the clone behind it punched Dosu in the chin.

"**Ki!**" The clone yelled as it launched Dosu up toward the ceiling.

Naruto was standing on the ceiling upside down waiting for this moment. As soon as Dosu was launched upward by his clones punch he used a burst of chakra to push himself off of the ceiling at high speed toward the rising sound ninja. He did a spin in the air, coming out of it by slamming both of his heels into the barely conscious ninja's head.

"**Naruto Barrage!**" he said as Dosu began his decent toward the ground. The two clones Naruto made dispersed but the original clone waited until Dosu collided with it on his way toward the hard ground when it exploded.

Naruto landed with a smirk as he gazed upon unmoving form of the sound ninja.

"He won't be fighting anymore." Hayate said after inspecting Dosu.

"The winner of the first match is Naruto Uzumaki." He said as Naruto smiled and walked back up to the railing.

"That last explosion wasn't necessary was it Naruto?" Kurenai asked as she gave Naruto a knowing look.

"Nope, I just wanted to make him go out with a bang." Naruto replied, not at all ashamed or embarrassed. If you hurt his friends, you would get no mercy from him in a fight.

"It's time for the next match." Hayate said as the screen chose two new names at random.

"The second match will be between Rock Lee and Sasuke Uchiha" Hayate announced.

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Sakura was slightly torn. On one hand Sasuke was her teammate and she should wish him luck, but on the other Lee had protected her twice now out of the goodness of his heart.

"Good luck Sasuke." She said as the Uchiha simply snorted and walked away.

Sakura saw Lee jump down from the railing in excitement and she could only laugh at his enthusiasm.

"Lee-kun good luck!" she said.

Rock Lee looked up at her with wide eyes filled with happiness.

'Yosh! Sakura-chan has wished me luck against her own teammate! I will not fail now. I will prove to her that I am worthy of being her protector.' He thought as Sasuke came down the steps.

Sasuke was not in a good mood. First he had to bear witness to Naruto's ability to make hundreds of clones, and then he had to deal with Kakashi about the curse seal on his shoulder.

'He said he would step in if the seal got out of control. Who is he to tell me not to use this power?' Sasuke thought as he stared at his opponent.

"Begin!" Hayate said.

Rock Lee moved into his iron fist taijutsu stance, while Sasuke fell into the stance that all Uchiha learned.

"You might as well give up. Don't you know who I am?" Sasuke said arrogantly.

"You are Sasuke Uchiha. You have been claimed a genius and the rookie of the year. This does not matter to me. A name will not guarantee you victory, nor will begin a genius. I will prove to you that a genius of hard work can defeat someone born with natural talent." Lee stated.

"We'll see." Sasuke said as he ran to fight Lee. Sasuke could feel that the seal was reacting to his chakra, which was making it very difficult to use his chakra.

'I'll have to beat him with taijutsu.' He thought as he closed the gap between them.

However, this was the worst plan that Sauske could have come up with. As he went to punch Lee, the green clad genin simply grabbed his arm with no apparent effort and swiftly kicked his legs out from under him. As Sasuke fell to the ground, Lee tightened his grip on Sasuke's arm and threw him into the wall with an impressive show of strength. The entire move took only 4 seconds.

'Whoa!' Many of the genin thought.

'How can he be so fast?' Sasuke thought as he pulled himself to his feet. Lee hadn't even moved from his spot and was simply waiting for Sasuke's next move.

Sasuke attempted to use the sharingan to see what technique Lee was using but the curse seal once again activated and he clutched his neck in pain.

This didn't go unnoticed by Lee. "Sasuke if you are in pain then you should give up. You are obviously not at your best." Lee said as he dropped his stance.

"I don't need your sympathy!" Sasuke yelled as he ran to attack again.

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Orochimaru observed the fight from his place on the railings. He was disguised as the sound ninja's jonin and so far no one seemed to notice. **(an. Anyone else find this very strange?)**

He was slightly concerned for his future vessel as he was being soundly beaten by the strange green wearing genin. No matter what Sasuke tried, Lee countered it with little to no effort and always sent the Uchiha sprawling on the ground.

'This is unacceptable. I guess I'll have to release the seal's interference.' Orochimaru thought as he made a very subtle hand sign.

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Sasuke was once again pulling himself up off of the ground. He was panting in exhaustion from the pain of the seal as well as the beating he was receiving from Lee.

'If only I could use my chakra!' He thought. Suddenly he felt the pain of the seal completely disappear and he felt his chakra return at its fullest.

'Yes!' Sasuke thought.

"You should have beaten me when you had the chance. Now I can feel my chakra returning and I am at full power." Sasuke said as he activated his sharingan.

"I am glad. I was beginning to think that this fight would be over quickly." Lee said. He looked pleased that Sasuke had regained his power.

'Now I'll see what strange technique he is using.' Sasuke thought as he rushed toward Lee with increased speed.

However, the outcome was the same. Even thought he was stronger and faster, the fact was that Lee was still able to block his blows and seemed to easily deliver his own onto the Uchiha.

'What?' Sasuke thought in confusion as he was kicked into the wall again.

"If this is your full strength then I must say that I am not impressed." Lee said calmly.

"What kind of technique are you using?" Sasuke asked in frustration. He could see what Lee was doing, but unable to respond to it.

"My style has no such technique or tricks. I use neither ninjustsu nor genjutsu. I am a taijutsu specialist. It does not matter if your eyes are quick enough to keep up with me as your body is not." Lee said.

"Why doesn't Lee use ninjutau or genjutsu?" Sakura asked the jonin of Lee's team.

He wore an outfit similar to Lee's in that it consisted of a green jumpsuit, with orange leg warmers. He wore the jonin jacket unzipped and his hairstyle and eyebrows were the same as Lee's.

"Lee cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu. His chakra coils are too underdeveloped. So I skipped those two styles and trained him solely on taijutsu. It is his dream to prove to everyone that a ninja who can only use one of the three main ninja arts can still be a fantastic shinobi." Maito Gai said with a bright smile.

Sakura looked at Lee with a new found respect. 'To attempt to become a great ninja through the use of taijutsu alone. Lee-kun I believe you can do it.' She thought.

Sasuke was not as impressed. 'Fine, taijutsu is out, so I guess I'll have to fight him long range.' Sasuke thought as he ran to hand signs.

"**Fire style: Fire ball jutsu!**" He yelled as he unleashed a huge ball of fire at Lee.

Lee swiftly jumped out of the way, but this was what Sasuke wanted as he appeared in Lee's blind spot and kicked him in the back.

'Finally, I'm getting my hits in.' Sasuke thought as Lee rose to his feet.

"Very clever Sasuke. I can see that this fight will be worth my time after all." Lee said with a smile.

"**Fire style: Phoenix fire jutsu!**" Sasuke yelled as he unleashed a multitude of small fire balls at Lee.

Lee dodged them all, but also kept an eye out for Sasuke. Sure enough the Uchiha once again attacked from his blind spot, but this time Lee saw his attack and punched him in the face. However, Lee's fist went right through Sasuke.

'A clone?' Lee thought as he heard the telltale sound of weapons begin thrown behind him. He turned around and saw three demon windmill shuriken coming at him. He dodged all three but unfortunately was tangled up in the nearly invisible wires that had been attached to the giant shuriken.

Sasuke smiled as he readied the attack that he had used against Orochimaru.

"**Fire style: Dragon fire jutsu!**' he said as a large stream of fire traveled down the wires toward Lee.

"Lee-kun!" Sakura yelled out in fear. She didn't want him getting hurt.

"Don't worry Sakura. It is far from over." Gai said, his smile never leaving his face.

Lee, in an impressive show of strength, was able to snap the wires holding him and avoid the flame attack. However, his left arm was still grazed and his arm wrapping caught on fire.

After putting the flames out Lee once again readied himself for combat. Both of the contestants were now beginning to feel fatigue, but Sasuke was worse off than Lee. The only way he could fight Lee was to distract him with fire attacks and attempt catch him by surprise. However continuous use of the fire techniques would leave him drained long before he could get a solid attack in.

"Lee take them off." Gai said.

"Are you sure Gai-sensei?" Lee asked in surprise.

"Yes I will allow it. Show them all your true strength!" Gai yelled in an extravagant manner.

'He is weird.' Most of the genin thought, as well as the jonin.

Lee smiled as he pulled down his orange leg warmers and showed everyone that he had been wearing leg weights.

'Leg weights? A little primitive isn't it?' Kakashi thought in confusion.

He was proven wrong when Lee removed the weights and dropped them. They both made huge craters in the ground and everyone in the stands were stunned.

'He had that much weight on his legs and was still able to move that fast?' Naruto thought in awe.

'Lee just how powerful are you?' Sakura thought.

"I can move so much easier more." Lee said after stretching a few times.

"Let us begin again, Sasuke." Lee said as he once again took his stance.

'This is not good.' Sasuke thought as he prepared another fireball.

"**Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!**" Sasuke yelled as he put a great deal of power behind the attack.

Lee made no move to dodge and the attack seemed to engulf him.

'Lee-kun!' Sakura thought, though she noticed that Gai's smile was even larger than before.

Sasuke looked at the destruction of his attack and began to think that he had won until he felt someone tap him on the back.

"You missed." Lee said as he punched Sasuke in the face.

'How could he be that fast?' Sasuke thought as he was launched to the wall. However, he didn't reach it as Lee came up behind him and kicked him the back. Sasuke had no time to adjust or counterattack from Lee's vicious offense. Before he was able to at least see Lee's attacks and brace himself as he wasn't fast enough to dodge, but now he couldn't even see a blur. It was as if he was fighting five opponents at once.

"**Konoha senpu!**" Lee yelled as he spun in the air and landed three decisive blows to Sasuke's head and chest. Sasuke smashed into the wall with enough force to crack it and fell to his knees.

"You have put up a great fight Sasuke, but you have lost." Lee said. His voice was neither smug nor prideful; he was simply stating a fact.

'I will not fail here! I will not fall, I can't.' Sasuke thought as he slowly rose to his feet. He was seeing double from a likely concussion but he still refused to back down.

"I admire your spirit Sasuke." Lee said as he once again readied himself.

"I will not lose to you." Sasuke said as he rushed Lee with the intent to fight until the end.

As Sasuke was right about to punch Lee in the face, Lee disappeared. Sasuke had only a split second to contemplate this before he felt a crushing force slam into his jaw, throwing him into the air. Lee had not disappeared. He had simply dropped down below Sasuke's line of sight and kicked him in the jaw. As Sauke was floating in the air from the kick, Lee appeared underneath him.

"You are a worthy opponent Sasuke, but this is where you fall." Lee said as he spun around Sasuke and planted a firm kick to his sternum. Sasuke breathe let him as he was launched into the stadium floor on is back. Lee landed easily and began to walk away.

'How? How could I lose to someone like him? It's impossible. If I can't even defeat Lee then how will I ever be able to defeat _him_?!' Sasuke thought as he anger began to turn into rage. He felt the seal activate and felt the rush of evil power.

"Come back here!" He bellowed as the black flame like markings began to spread.

Lee was in the process of putting his leg weights back on when he turned to see Sasuke back on his feet with strange black markings on his skin.

'What sort of chakra is this?' he thought.

"This fight isn't over!" Sasuke said with an evil smile as he prepared hand signs.

"Yes it is." Kakashi said as he appeared behind Sasuke and knocked him out.

'I will have to place a seal on him it seems.' Kakashi thought as he picked Sasuke up and disappeared with him.

"The winner of the second match is Rock Lee." Hayate said.

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Sakura was happy and concerned at the same time. She was happy that Lee had won, but was also concerned about Sasuke. While she may not look at him as a love interest anymore, she was still concerned about the strange seal that was on his body. She was afraid that he would lose control and harm her friends.

"What is wrong Sakura-chan?" Lee said as he immediately came up beside her when he saw she was upset.

"Nothing Lee-kun, great job out there." She said with a smile, he was always trying to help her.

"Yosh, I know that you will succeed as well Sakura-chan." He said with a huge smile.

"Lee that was amazing, your flames of youth truly burn bright!" Gai said as he congratulated his student.

"Thank you Gai-sensei!" Lee said with a blindingly bright smile.

"It's time for the next match." Hayate said as the screen chose two new ninja.

"The third match will be between Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame." He said.

"Alright now it's my turn!" Kiba said with a vicious smile on his face.

"Well it seems that my match has come up." Shino said as he turned to walk away.

Naruto and Hinata looked at one another in confusion. They both had caught Shino's subtle but noticeable change in behavior. While he normally was reserved and calm under any situation, he seemed eager for this match.

"Don't lose Shino." Naruto said to his friend.

"I don't plan to." Shino responded as he continued to walk away.

"There seems to be something more to this fight then meets the eye." Hinata commented.

Naruto simply nodded his head in agreement.

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Shino looked at his opponent with no outward signs of emotion. However, internally he was prepared for a fight. He and Kiba had been butting heads ever since the wave mission, when Kiba was trying to gain Haku's affection.

"I'm going to win here Shino." Kiba stated with a feral grin.

"We shall see." Shino calmly replied.

"Akamaru stay out of this for right now okay." Kiba said to his small white canine friend. Akamaru barked his consent and went to lie down.

"Begin!" Hayate said.

"**Ninja art: Beast Mimicry!**" Kiba said as his features began to grow more feral. His canines and nails lengthened.

Kiba rushed toward Shino and planted his shoulder in the Aburame's chest, knocking him of his feet.

"Ha, is that the best you can do?" Kiba growled.

Shino picked himself up without any apparent damage.

"It will take much more than that to defeat me Kiba." Shino said.

Kiba growled in annoyance and rushed to attack again. While he knew he had to be careful of Shino's insects, he also knew that the Aburame was not very good at taijutsu.

Shino watched Kiba's approach and prepared himself. When Kiba was upon him Shino began to dodge and trade blows with the Inuzuka, much to Kiba's surprise. When Shino was able to land a kick to Kiba's chest, Naruto and Hinata were cheering for their friend.

'What is going on? Shino was never good at taijutsu.' Kiba thought as he rose to his feet.

"You seem confused. My taijutsu has improved dramatically thanks to my sensei. She is the one who pointed out that I can't become too dependent on my insects or I will be at a severe disadvantage should I fight an opponent able to counter them." Shino stated calmly.

"That won't help you against this! **Fang over Fang!**" Kiba said as he began to spin in a tornado.

Shino threw a smoke bomb down to attempt to confuse Kiba. Kiba was undeterred and went right through the smoke to hit Shino. Shino dispersed into a swarm of insects; however Kiba was spinning far too fast for the insect to be able to latch onto him.

Kiba came out of his spin and growled. Normally he would have been able to tell the difference between an opponent and a copy, but Shino already had insects inside of him and it was very difficult to tell the difference, especially with the smoke.

"Akamaru!" He yelled as he threw a solider pill to his dog. Akamaru ate the pill and his white fur became bright red.

"**Ninja art: Man-beast clone!**" Kiba said as Akamaru became an exact copy of Kiba.

"**Fang over Fang!**" Kiba yelled as he and Akamaru began to spin and both attacked Shino.

Shino was able to dodge a few of their strikes, but unfortunately, he was still hit a few times by the duo's relentless attacks. As he picked himself off of the floor Shino knew he had to come up with something if he wanted to win. A bug clone wouldn't work as Kiba and Akamaru were moving far too fast for his insects to latch onto them and he wouldn't be able to fight them both off at the same time.

'I guess it's time to try something new.' Shino thought as Kiba and Akamaru came to attack him again.

"**Ninja art: Mud wall jutsu!**" Shino said as a wall of earth came up from the ground in front of him.

Kiba and Akamaru could have gone around the wall of earth, but they were both governed by their baser instincts which demanded that they show their dominance with a show of strength. They plowed through the wall of earth and both crashed into Shino. However, Shino burst into strange small white strands that stuck to the pair. When Kiba and Akamaru stopped spinning, they were shocked to discover that they were still wrapped in the strange white strands, and no matter how much they bit or pulled at it they weren't able to make it break.

"What is this stuff?!" Kiba yelled.

"It is spider silk. You might as well stop struggling as it is harder than steel itself." Shino said as he calmly walked up to the captured duo.

"How?" Kiba asked in confusion.

"When I made the mud wall I knew you would try to plow through it. I simply had to make a bug clone made up of spiders and their silk. Once you hit it the silk began to spin along with you. The more you spun the more you were only trapping yourself. As you can see, once you stopped your fang over fang technique, you were entangled by the very strands that you had wrapped around yourself." Shino calmly said as he placed a kunai to Kiba's throat.

"The winner of the match, Shino Aburame." Hayate announced.

Shino summoned a few of his insects and had them to sever the strand binding Kiba and Akamaru. Afterwards he held out his hand to the Inuzuka. Kiba looked at it for a while but eventually he smirked and shook Shino's hand to symbolize that the hatchet was buried between them.

"Good match Shino, but next time I'm going to win." Kiba said with a smile.

"We shall see Kiba." Shino said with a smile of his own.

"Great job Shino." Naruto said when Shino rejoined his friends.

"You did very well Shino-san." Hinata complimented as well.

"I am surprised that you learned the mud wall jutsu." Kurenai commented.

"I took what you and Anko-san said about needing to become a well rounded ninja to heart." Shino said calmly.

"The next match will be between Kin and Shikamaru Nara." Hayate said.

The fight went by quickly, and the results surprised a few people. Kin attempted to use her senbon needles to catch Shikamaru in a genjutsu, however he showed surprising battle field awareness as well as planning skills as he easily maneuvered her in a position where he was able to catch her in his shadow and knock her out.

Many of the contestants were shocked by this. Shikamaru was always lazy and was never considered to be a worthwhile ninja as he never seemed to care about it.

'There's more to Shikamaru then I thought.' Naruto thought after watching the match.

The next match was between Temari from the sand village and one of Kabuto's teammates called Yoroi. Yoroi had a special technique that allowed him to drain his opponent's chakra through physical contact. However, Temari was a long range specialist and was able to use her huge fan to launch constant wind attacks against Yoroi. She finished the match by slamming her heavy fan into his head like a club after he was caught in one of her wind attacks.

The next match was between Choji and Zaku. Zaku's arms were still damaged from the fight with Sasuke and he was unable to stop Choji's human boulder attack. Hayate declared Choji the winner after He had leveled Zaku into the ground.

The following match was between Tenten and the last member of Kabuto's team, Tsurugi. He was able to disconnect his joints and wrap up an opponent with his body. Tenten was a weapons expert and she was easily able to keep a distance between them and perforate him with all manner of sharp objects. Needless to say, she won and most looked at her in a little fear.

Ino fought against Kankuro in the next match. Ino attempted to use her mind transfer jutsu against Kankuro only to discover that he was able to use a puppet called crow. Her mind jutsu's wouldn't work against a puppet and Kankuro was able to allow his puppet to attack her. Kankuro was known for getting a little carried away and he seemed to enjoy playing with Ino before defeating her. This angered the rookies, but none more than Choji. He had always had a crush on Ino and he was a second away from rushing the field to defeat the puppet using sand ninja for harming Ino. However, Hayate called the match and Ino was taken to recover.

'I'll get that make up wearing freak!' Choji thought with a snarl as he watched Ino being carried away by medic ninja.

"The next match will be between Gaara of the dessert and Sakura Haruno." Hayate announced.

Sakura's blood ran cold at this announcement. She remembered what Kabuto had told them about Gaara during the first part of the exam and she could see that his eyes held no emotion. Sakura was losing her nerve until Lee walked up to encourage her.

"Sakura-chan, give it your best shot. I know you will do well." He said with his signature bright smile.

Sakura felt slightly better at Lee's comment and regained her confidence.

'That's right. I'm not the same weak fangirl I was before. I have improved and I will give it my best shot. No more running away!' She thought as she prepared to leave.

"Do your best Sakura." Kakashi said as he suddenly reappeared.

"Kakashi-sensei? Where were you?" She asked.

"Taking care of Sasuke. Don't worry I wouldn't miss your match for anything. But be very careful Sakura there's something strange about Gaara." Kakashi warned.

"I will." She said as she went down to the stadium floor.

'Ha she's got no chance against Gaara.' Kankuro thought.

Naruto watched with growing concern. He knew that Sakura had improved and was no longer the weak helpless genin she was before, but he also knew that there was more to Gaara than was being shown.

'I hope you make it out of this okay Sakura.' He thought.

Naruto suddenly realized something. This was the second to the last match.

'That means that the last match will be between Hinata-chan and Neji.' He realized. He gazed at Hinata and saw that she had come to this conclusion as well as her eyes were focused on Neji. Naruto followed her gaze and saw a slight smirk appear on Neji's face.

"Hinata-chan, you can beat him." Naruto said with the utmost confidence.

Hinata looked at him in surprise, but her eyes eventually softened in gratitude and she nodded her head.

"I know I can Naruto-kun and I will, but right now I am more concerned about Sakura." She said as she gazed down at the two contestants.

"Begin!" Hayate commanded.

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**Here's chapter 17. If the fights weren't great I understand as I am still trying to get a feel for one on one fights. So Sakura will fight Gaara and Hinata will fight Neji. How will Sakura fair against Gaara, why does Neji still hate Hinata? These will be answered in the next chapter. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: End of Preliminaries**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto**

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Sakura walked down the steps to the arena floor, with a slight tremor. While she was encouraged by Lee's and Kakashi's confidence in her, she was still very afraid of the sand ninja whose eyes were almost dead and who had never been injured in a mission before.

Gaara, for his part, simply looked at the girl in front of him with little emotion. He seemed almost bored with everything that was going on.

"Begin." Hayate announced.

Sakura jumped back and awaited Gaara's first move, however, the sand shinobi didn't move. He simply followed her with his eyes.

'What's he planning?' she thought warily.

"Well are you going to fight or not?" she asked, hoping to gain a reaction from the strange ninja.

"There's no point." Gaara said, his expression never changing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

Sakura suddenly felt a massive killing intent settle upon her. She fell to her knees from the feeling and nearly passed out. It felt like a huge weight was pressing on her chest, making it impossible to breath. As quickly as it came, it vanished. Sakura finally began to breathe again, though her breath coming in short uneven gasps of air.

'That was insane!' She thought. The killing intent alone from Gaara was just as massive as the strange ninja that she had fought in the forest.

"That is why there is no point. You are not worth fighting much less killing. You can't even handle the bare minimum of my killing intent. Killing someone as pathetic as you will not prove my existence. I only want to kill strong opponents." He said as he turned to leave.

His word cut Sakura deeper than a kunai. She remembered all the times she froze up in the face of a dangerous opponent. She remembered the bridge battle, the fight with Orochimaru, and the fight with the sound ninja. Every time she was forced to rely on someone else to fight for her. Every time she had to watch as her friends were hurt because she couldn't pull her own weight.

'No more! I promised myself that I would not be a burden to others anymore.' She thought as she touched her short hair, remembering the promise she made to herself in the forest. She shakily rose to her feet and threw a few shuriken at Gaara's back.

She was very surprised when a wall of sand rose up to block the projectiles.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked in the same flat tone, not even turning his head at the attack.

"Don't walk away from me." Sakura said fiercely.

Gaara did turn his head this time to observe her.

"I already told you that you aren't worth fighting." Gaara said in a tone that suggested he was irritated with having to repeat himself.

"I don't need your pity. I am a ninja and if you won't fight then I will." She said as he rushed to attack the sand ninja.

She once again felt the massive killing intent settle upon her, but this time she forced herself to continue to move, despite the terrifying feeling. She rushed toward him to punch him, only to see the wall of sand rise up and halt her punch.

"I must say that I am impressed. The fact that you were able to continue your attack in spite of my killing intent is slightly impressive, considering how weak you are. However, my patience wears thin. Cease this useless fight before I rethink my earlier opinion and kill you." He said with a bored tone, as he flicked his wrist and a wave of sand blew her back to the opposite side of the arena floor.

"Sakura-chan!" Lee said in concern.

'She had better stay down.' Kankuro thought.

"Sakura, you have already proved yourself. You don't have to keep fighting." Naruto called out to her in concern. He didn't know a lot about Gaara, but he could tell that the ninja was dangerous and would have qualms with killing her if he got annoyed with her presence.

"N-no! I won't give up!" Sakura said as she climbed to her feet.

'That sand shields him to my attacks. That means that I'll have to hit him with a genjutsu, but which one?' She thought. She suddenly came to a decision, but knew that it was truly a one shot move.

'Here goes nothing.' She thought as she began a long stream of hand signs.

"Where did she learn that from?" Kurenai asked on one in particular. As a genjutsu specialist she knew nearly every genjustu there was and the one Sakura was attempting was a powerful one.

"I taught it to her." Kakashi said simply as he looked at Kurenai.

"I realized that she had a talent for genjutsu, especially after you taught her the basics, so during the weeks before the exam I taught her better chakra control and gave her a scroll pertaining to this attack as a sort of goal to reach. I am very surprised that she was able to complete it." He said as he turned his gaze back to the match.

"What is the attack?' Shino asked curiously.

"It is a powerful genjutsu that forces an opponent to relive their worst memories. It is fairly taxing for the caster if they don't have a lot of chakra." Kurenai explained.

"But will it be enough?" Naruto asked.

No one wanted to answer him.

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Gaara watched the pink haired girl with annoyance. He felt that he had been very generous in allowing her to live. Truth be told, he only wanted to fight and kill a few of the genin. The others he didn't care about. He wanted to face Naruto, Sasuke, or even Lee as they all proved to be worthy opponents and thus their deaths would help to prove his existence. He was intrigued with the dark energy that Sasuke had shown at the end of his fight, he could tell that Lee was holding back a massive amount of power, and Naruto had a feeling to him that was familiar to Gaara. Naruto was one of the first not to flinch under his steely gaze and massive killing intent.

"Take this! **Nightmare viewing jutsu**!" Sakura yelled as she finished her attack.

Everyone in the stadium watched as Gaara stood perfectly still and seemed to be unaffected. That is until he grabbed his head and began to shaky visibly.

"Y-yahsa.. yashamaru." He stuttered as he began to yell in pain.

'What's going on? He shouldn't be in pain.' Sakura thought with a small pant. This was her strongest attack and it took a lot out of her.

'This is not good!' Temari and Kankuro thought.

Gaara continued to yell in pain as he grabbed his head and the sand floating around him seemed to settle down.

'This is my chance!" Sakura thought as he rushed toward the ninja. Suddenly Gaara stopped yelling in pain and turned his gaze to Sakura. She froze in place as she felt a killing intent so large that it put his previous one to shame. She was unable to do anything except stare into the gaze of the insane shinobi, whose eyes held murder. Gaara had seemingly broken out of the jutsu and had one thing on his mind.

"You…will….DIE!" He yelled as his sand rose up into a huge wave and swept Sakura to the opposite side of the stadium with crushing force. However, it wasn't over as the sand wrapped around her legs and lifted her into the air.

The sand began to whip her around the stadium and smash her into the walls like a rag doll.

"Stop the match!" Naruto yelled in concern. He could tell by the look on Gaara's face that he was looking for blood and the only reason Sakura wasn't dead yet was because he wanted to torture her first.

Gaara threw her once again into the wall, cracking it upon impact, and looked at the semi conscious ninja lying broken on the ground. She had forced him to relive the most traumatizing experience of his life and she would pay!

"Die!" he yelled as he sent a massive wave of sand to crush the young ninja.

Sakura couldn't move. She was in extreme pain and was sure that numerous bones were broken. She opened only one eye as the other was swollen shut and watched as the huge wave of sand rushed toward her.

'Is this it? Is this how I'm going to die?' She thought as the sand crashed down toward her.

The next thing that she was aware of was feeling like she was flying in the air. She felt something warm wrapped around her and opened her eye to see what had happened. She was not dead; she was in the arms of Rock Lee. He stared down at her with concern evident in his big black eyes.

"Are you ok Sakura-chan?" He asked softly.

'He saved me again. He's always there for me.' She thought as her injuries began to catch up with her, thought she was able to say one thing before she fell unconscious.

"Thank you, Lee-kun." She said softly as she passed out.

Rock Lee looked down at her in concern, but was ripped from his thoughts when he saw that Gaara was not finished. Lee had to dodge multiple sand attacks from the crazed ninja who was ignoring the Hayate's announcement that Gaara was the winner of the match.

"Gaara, that enough!' The sand jonin yelled as he jumped down beside the genin.

Gaara turned a death glare to him, but eventually calmed down and returned the sand to his gourd. He turned to walk away when he was stopped by Lee's voice.

"You were trying to kill her weren't you?" It was a statement, not a question.

"I don't try to kill someone. Once I have decided someone will die, and then they are already dead. I will definitely kill that pathetic excuse for a ninja, as well as you." He said in his usual dead tone.

'We will meet in battle Gaara of the desert, and I will avenge Sakura-chan on that day.' Lee thought as the medic ninja came to take her away.

"Why didn't you step in Kakashi?" Kurenai asked with a critical tone.

"There was no need. I was about to when I noticed that the mini-Gai was going to step in before I would. I think she would appreciate being saved by him more than me." He said simply, not expressing the concern he held for his third fallen student.

Naruto could agree with that. Being saved by Kurenai would have made him feel like he still needed to be babied, but if Hinata or Shino had saved him than he would not have felt as badly.

Naruto felt bad for Sakura but he was more concerned about Gaara. That killing intent he had let out during the match didn't feel human. It actually reminded him of the Kyuubi's killing intent, though it wasn't remotely as powerful.

'What's up with him? I have a feeling I'm going to find out eventually and not like the answer.' Naruto thought as he noticed that Gaara's gaze was locked onto his for a moment.

Naruto was ripped from his thoughts when Hayate made the announcement that Naruto had been anticipating.

"The final match will be between Neji Hyuga and Hinata Yuhi."

Hinata turned to leave but was stopped by her team.

"You can do it Hinata." Kurenai said with a smile.

"Your skills are very impressive and you have very few flaws in your style." Shino said with a nod.

Naruto looked at her for a moment and then looked at Neji, who was already standing in the arena floor seemingly very eager to fight. He turned his gaze back to his oldest friend and saw that she was waiting for him to say something.

"Show him your strength Hinata-chan. I know you can take him and I can't wait until you knock that stupid looking grin off his face." He said with a wide smile of confidence.

Hinata gazed at her long time crush and felt the confidence, acceptance, and care that her team held for her. Kurenai was a big sister to her in name but a mother figure in spirit. Shino was like a silent big brother. He didn't say much at all but he was one of the most loyal and caring people that she had ever met. Naruto was her oldest friend, but also much more.

It is because of Naruto that she didn't give into her despair when she was banished. It was because of Naruto that she was able to gain confidence in herself as well as her worth in the world. It was because of Naruto that she was the amazing ninja that stood before them.

She whipped away the tears that threatened to fall and gave them all a smile that rivaled Naruto's.

"I will win and see you both in the third round. Team eight always sticks together." She said with the utmost confidence as she held her hand out.

"You got that right!"Naruto said as he stuck his hand out on top of her hand.

Shino nodded his head in silent agreement and placed his own top of his friend's hands.

Surprisingly, Kurenai placed her hand on top of their's with a smile as well.

"See you in the finals." Hinata said as she pulled her hand away and walked down the stairs.

'Show everyone your strength Hinata-chan.' Naruto thought as he watched her enter the ring and face off against Neji.

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"So you decided to fight after all. I was beginning to think that you had decided to do the sensible thing and give up." Neji said in a prideful tone.

Hinata, for her part, simply watched him without responding. She looked at Neji with an expression that was more inquisitive than angry.

"What is your problem with me Neji-san?" Hinata asked. "I know that you hate the main family, but what does that have to do with me? I am no longer a part of the Hyuga clan."

"That's exactly the point." Neji said with a smirk.

"What?" HInata asked in confusion.

"You are so worthless that you weren't even placed into the branch family. You were sealed and kicked out into the street like the garbage you are." Neji said.

At this point Hinata's ire began to rise. Before, when her confidence was nonexistent, she would have believed what Neji had said and began to shake in fear. However, she was confident in who she was and had the support and acceptance of her precious people. She had learned from both Anko and Kurenai how to be a strong women and she would not be insulted by Neji.

"Fine, I you refuse to tell me then that is your decision. It doesn't affect this match. Prepare yourself Neji-san." She said as she moved into the serpent taijutsu stance.

"I see you have given up on learning the jyuken style. It's for the best as you were pathetic at it, just like everything else in your life." Neji said as he fell into the jyuken stance.

"Begin!" Hayate commanded.

Both of the combatants activated their byakugan.

Neji rushed toward Hinata in an attempt to finish the match quickly. He expected Hinata to react as she used too and lose her nerve. However, he soon learned how dangerous Hinata really was. He attempted to strike her in the chest with a jyuken strike, only for Hinata to sidestep at the last moment. Neji pivoted and attempted to catch her off guard with a quick strike. However, Hinata flipped backward and once again avoided a hit. She was not stupid; she knew the dangers of the jyuken style.

Often called the "Gentle Fist Style", the jyuken was composed of focusing chakra to expel out of the body and damage the opponent's internal organs. A single strike to the chest could damage the opponent's heart and kill them, while leaving the skin untouched. Even blocking was dangerous as it was not possible to block the chakra that was expelled into the opponent's body.

Knowing this, Hinata simply dodged every strike by Neji. No matter how swiftly or relentlessly he struck, he was unable to hit Hinata. If Neji was asked, he would say that it was like trying to hit a serpent. She always seemed to be able to slip out of an attack at the last minute, but she still refrained from attacking.

"What are you waiting for?" Neji asked in anger. He was very angry that he was not able to hit her. He had expected this fight to be over quickly, but Hinata was much more formidable than he had anticipated.

"I want to know why first." Hinata said calmly.

"Why?" Neji asked in confusion.

"Why are you acting this way? Tell me that." She elaborated.

"I thought that it didn't matter." Neji said with his smirk returning.

"I would like to know before I defeat you." Hinata said definitively.

"Fine then, you want to know why you disgust me? The reason is simple. You walk around laughing, joking, having a good time as if you were happy with the way your life turned out. You were once a part of the Hyuga clan, the most powerful clan in Konoha, and were kicked out. Instead of doing whatever was necessary to rejoin the clan you decided to accept your banishment and live the life of a commoner. You act as if the life you live now was better than the life you had in the clan and defile the position you once held as the Hyuga heiress." He snarled.

"Why do you care?! You hate the main family for what happened to your father. I would expect that you would sympathize with me as we both know the pain that the main family can cause." Hinata said with the same amount of venom.

"I was upset with what happened to my father, but I realize that it wasn't the main families' fault. It was fate. My father was born second to yours so he was placed in the branch family where his fate and destiny was to protect the main house. He died because it was his fate to die for the main branch." He replied.

"So you think the main branch is right to treat the branch family like they are inferior to them?" Hinata asked in shock. For as long as she had known Neji, she had never expected him to say this.

"It is their fate to be below the main branch and to serve them. As is yours." Neji said simply.

"So you accept your place as little more than a slave?' Hinata asked in anger.

"No, tell me Hinata. Who do you think is the heir of the Hyuga clan now?" He said with a wide grin.

"My sister Hanabi of course." Hinata said with a sick feeling beginning to rise in her stomach.

"Wrong, she will eventually be given off as the wife of a noble to strengthen the clan. It was decided that someone stronger should take the lead." He said as he took off his head band and undid the wrapping to reveal his forehead. There was no seal.

"I am the heir to the Hyuga clan." He said simply with a cruel smile at her shocked expression.

"After you were banished, the seal was removed from my forehead and I was named heir. I now see that fate decided that I should be the heir to the clan and that you would be nothing but a simple commoner. If you had given up being a ninja then there wouldn't be a problem, but instead you continued on and became a ninja. You go on missions and anyone who sees you sees the way you fight, the way you act, and it is an affront to the image of the clan. That is way I despise you Hinata, for you do not know your place." He said with a look of pure hatred.

Every one of the leaf genin was stunned. Even Neji's teammates didn't know that he was the new clan heir, as he wanted to keep it a secret until the chunin exams.

'So that's the reason that he hates Hinata-chan? Because she didn't give up and bow down to what those idiots thought?' Naruto thought in anger. He wanted nothing more than to punch Neji in the face, but he thought that it would be better if Hinata did it.

"Hinata-chan, Shut him up!' Naruto yelled.

Neji looked up at Naruto in anger.

"He should keep his mouth shut, but then again he is on the team full of losers." Neji said.

Neji then felt a kunai slice past his left arm, cutting it as it passed.

He looked at Hinata and saw a fire burning in her eyes. There was no meekness, no hint of fear, only anger.

"Shut up! I am tired of listening to you. Before I left the clan I always thought that the branch family was treated unfairly and I desperately wanted to change that. I may have lost my chance but it doesn't matter. I used to think that you were a kind person that was hurting inside, but I see that you have become corrupted by your thoughts of fate and the main branch. You may say what you want to me Neji, but don't you dare insult my friends!" She yelled as she rushed in to attack.

Neji smiled as he readied himself, the kunai had barely cut his arm and the pain was small.

"So you're finally ready to fight? Good I want you to learn that fate can't be fought. You will lose here." He said as she was suddenly upon him.

He dodged a punch to the face, only to feel a hard kick land in his unprotected side. He swiftly recovered and attempted to hit her in the face, but she once again sidestepped as she did before. This time, however, she counterattacked by grabbing his outstretched arm and held it up as she punched him in his now unprotected side. The blow had caught Neji in the ribs and he was momentarily stunned. Hinata took advantage and, still grasping his hand, flipped him over her shoulder.

Neji rose up with a fierce look on his face. He rushed in again and attacked with everything he had. Hinata was taken by surprise by his new found speed and aggressive style. Whereas before he was treating her lightly, he was now proving why he was claimed to be the genius of the Hyuga clan. His strikes were swift and deadly, but Hinata held her own. She was no longer able to dodge every strike but was able to minimize the damage by letting his blows land on her forearms and elbows. She knew she couldn't take a hit to the chest or any important joint as a blow to a joint, such as the shoulder, would leave the entire arm immobile, and a blow to the chest would end the match. She noticed something strange with her arms and jumped back.

She pulled up the sleeves of her indigo jacket and noticed that a few of her tenketsu were blocked.

"I see you finally figure it out." Neji said with a slight pant. "I realized that you were taking the blows to your arms whenever you could so I decided to shut off you tenketsu in your arms. Eventually you won't be able to move them at all."

"That may be, but I won't need them for much longer." She said as she attacked before he could question her.

She was once again on him, but now she was being very careful to dodge all of his attacks, however this required her to devote all of her energy to dodging and thus she couldn't counter attack.

'What is she doing? Why has she given up on attacking and devoted all of her time to dodging?' Neji wondered as she once again avoided a strike to her chest. She was weaving through his attacks, and while she was getting tired, Neji was also feeling the beginnings of fatigue. Her blows had hurt, but they weren't enough to defeat him. Suddenly Neji felt his entire left arm go numb.

'What!' He thought as it fell to his side and Hinata rushed in to attack. With only one arm, Neji was unable to mount an adequate defense and Hinata landed blow after blow to his head and chest. Neji jumped back after in an attempt to regain feeling in his arm.

He looked at his arm with his byakugan to see if she had somehow been able to strike his tenketsu and shut his arm down. However, upon close inspection he could see no disruption in his chakra path way.

"You won't find the problem in your chakra system." Hinata said with a pant of her own. Both were giving their all and she was feeling fatigue as well.

"What did you do?!" Neji cried.

"That kunai that I threw earlier was coated in a paralyzing poison. Had I struck your shoulder dead on then you would have lost feeling in your arm a while ago. However I didn't want it to be that fast, so I barely cut your arm which made the poison take longer. This way I am able to watch your confidence slowly decrease until you realize that fate has nothing to do with this match." She said with a hard expression and ran to attack him again.

'She really has improved.' Anko thought as she watched Hinata fight. She had to agree with Orochimaru, Hinata was progressing swiftly with the serpent style and would one day surpass her.

'You can do it Hinata.' Shino thought.

'You have improved so much Hinata. I am very proud of you.' Kurenai thought.

'Hinata-chan is amazing! She's kicking Neji's butt now!' Naruto thought as they continued to watch her land blow after blow to Neji. It wouldn't be long before she finished the fight.

Hinata looked at Neji and with the same stare. It was obvious to the both of them that she was going to win.

"You shouldn't have let your guard down Neji-san" Hinata said as Neji's arm hung useless at his side.

"You will not defeat me!" Neji said hatefully.

"Yes I will, you will not stop me from reaching the third round with my friends." Hinata said with the utmost confidence.

"Your friends are as worthless as you!" Neji said in anger.

Hinata's eyes hardened again at the insult to her friends and she rushed toward Neji with the intent to end the match.

'What am I going to do? I can't use my left arm and she is deadly up close.'' Neji thought as Hinata drew nearer. He face hardened when he came to a decision.

"Activate!" He yelled as he made a single sign with his right hand.

Hinata instantly grabbed her forehead in a wail of pure agony. He fell to her knees in pain and continued to scream.

"What's going on?!" Choji exclaimed.

"Stop the match! He's using the seal!" Naruto yelled in fury.

"How does it feel Hinata? This is what happens when you try to go against your fate!" Neji said was he watched her continue to scream on the ground.

Neji stopped when his right hand was grabbed from behind. He turned around to see Kurenai behind him was she was the one who broke his concentration. Her red eyes held raw fury and he could see that she would want nothing more than to make him pay.

"So you are the one who adopted her. You should let her fight her own battles. You won't always be able to protect her.

"Oh I didn't stop you for her protection but for your own." Kurenai said with an evil smile as she looked in front of him.

Neji followed her gaze, and nearly fell flat on his butt when he saw the point of a sword no more than a few inches away from his forehead. He saw the sword had belonged to Naruto and noticed that the only reason that he didn't have a blade through his head was because Kakashi, Anko, Gai, and Hayate were holding him back.

"Let me go." Naruto said calmly, though the underlining steel in his tone left no doubt as to what would happen should they comply with his request.

"Calm down little brother." Anko said, though she herself really wanted to let him kill the Hyuga.

"I'm very calm, let me go and I'll show you just how calm I am." Naruto said as anger began to creep into his voice.

They jonin all noticed that it was becoming increasingly harder to hold the genin back as he began to unconsciously channel Kyuubi's power.

"Naruto stop and think for a moment! If you kill him now then you will be disqualified and Hinata wouldn't want that." Kakashi said, trying to reason with the genin.

"You have five seconds to let me go!" Naruto snarled as his eyes began to turn crimson red.

"N-Naruto-kun."

Naruto's anger instantly disappeared and concern replaced it as he rushed over to Hinata.

"Hinata-chan, you okay?" Naruto asked softly, his voice full of concern as Shino jumped down beside him.

"I-I'm sorry. I r-really wanted to be in t-third round with you and Shino-san." She said with a soft smile as she looked into his eyes.

"It's okay Hinata-chan. He cheated; I know you'll be allowed to move on." He said with confidence, trying to hide the tears that threatened to fall.

"Actually Neji wins as Kurenai interrupted the fight." Hayate said, though his tone showed that he didn't want the outcome to be so.

"That's not fair!" Naruto said. He was about to protest until Hinata's hand shakily grabbed his own.

"N-Naruto-kun, l-let it go. It's okay." She said softly as she began to lose consciousness.

"Hinata-chan hold on we'll get you help." He said as his tears began to fall.

"Did I fight well?" She asked as her eyes continued to close.

"You were amazing Hinata. D-Don't worry, I get him in the next round." He said as she gave him one last smile before she passed out.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Neji said afterwards.

Naruto didn't respond as he kept his head down looking at Hinata. He finally let her go as the medic came to take her away. After a moment he turned and looked at Neji.

Neji's eyes widened when he saw that Naruto's eyes had turned crimson red.

"You had better pray to Kami that we don't meet in the next round Neji, because if we do than I will end you." He said with convection.

Shino was silent but his steely glare directed at Neji expressed his emotions better than anything he could have said.

"The winner of the last match is Neji Hyuga." Hayate said a bit reluctantly.

"That's it for the preliminaries. The third round of the exam will be held a month from now. All winner some up and pick a number to see who you will fight." Hayate said as the genin complied and picked numbers.

The matches are thus:

1st match: Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuga

Naruto fixed Neji with a death glare.

2nd match: Gaara of the desert vs Rock Lee

Rock Lee gave Gaara a hard stare, which was returned by the sand shinobi.

3rd match: Shikamaru Nara vs Temari

'Troublesome' Shikamaru thought as he gazed at the blonde girl, who was sending him a predatory stare.

4th match: Kankuro vs Choji Akamichi

Choji looked at Kankuro with a heated look, which the sand ninja ignored.

5th match: Shino Aburame vs Tenten

Teten flinched under the hard stare Shino sent her way. If he couldn't have Neji then he would settle with her.

Naruto gave Neji a look that would have made Kyuubi proud.

"Looks like your end is coming in a month Hyuga." He said with a truly sadistic smile.

"Your fate is to fall before my feet just like that other weakling." Neji replied.

Naruto placed a hand on his sword and was a few seconds away from attacking him until Hayate stopped him.

"That's enough. Fight now and you will be disqualified." He stated sternly. Naruto reluctantly complied.

"Don't worry otouto, you'll get him later." Anko said with a smile.

"Alright, meet at the chunin exam area in one month, dismissed." Hayate said as the genin all left to train.

For many, they had something to prove in the next round and planned to train long and hard for the next round.

'We will fight Neji and in one month's time I'll make you pay for what you did to Hinata-chan.' Naruto thought as he walked with Shino, Kurenai and Anko to see how Hinata was doing.

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**Here's chapter 18. Yes I used the seal, yes it was mean, yes I feel bad…..and now I'm over it. What will happen next time is not something to miss. Naruto will meet his trainer for the one month and their identity may come as a surprise. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: One month of training**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto**

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Team eight all walked together through the hospital toward Hinata's room. Kurenai was still fuming over the battle but was keeping her anger in check. She looked at her two students, attempting to gauge their emotions.

Shino was always difficult to read. Being an Aburame, Shino rarely outwardly expressed his emotions, but she had known him long enough to recognize the signs that he was upset. He seemed to be calm, but she saw the slightly stiff way he walked meaning he was upset, also she could faintly hear his insects buzzing with displeasure.

Naruto was an open book to her. Naruto always attempted to control his temper, but the quickest way to set him off was to harm one of his friends. She could see every emotion he felt in his eyes. There was a multitude of emotions running through him. She saw anger, sadness, rage, despair, and so many more. She could see that Naruto cared for Hinata even more than he himself knew; this brought a small smile to her face.

When they arrived at the room containing Hinata, Naruto hesitated at the door. He didn't want to go in. He didn't want to see what was happening with his oldest friend, but he knew he had to. He was the first to enter and nearly collapsed on the floor with the sight in front of him.

Hinata was unconscious in the hospital bed. There were wires connected to probes on her forehead and a multitude of doctors around her.

"What's going on here?" Naruto asked.

One of the doctors turned to him and gave him a dirty look.

"We have everything under control, so why don't you just leave. We don't really need someone like _you_ in here." He said with disdain.

Naruto already accepted that there would be people who hated him all throughout the village, even in the hospital, but that did nothing to curb his anger. He wanted an outlet for his rage and the doctor was setting himself up as the target for that rage.

Before he could say anything, Kurenai walked up to the doctor with a glare of her own.

"You listen to me. That is my student and sibling, so you had better tell us what is wrong with her." She said, her crimson eyes nearly flashing in anger at his treatment of Naruto.

"I-I'm s-sorry. It seems that she has fallen into a coma." He said with fear.

All of the anger and rage left team eight at these words. To them it felt like a kick to the gut and an icy feeling crept into their very souls.

"A-a coma?" Naruto repeated with disbelief.

"That's right, it seems that whatever was used on her caused severe trauma to the brain and her brain shut itself down to cope with the damage. There's no telling how long she will be unconscious." He said, with a hint of compassion in his voice. Naruto's expression had made the doctor think about his mindset regarding the boy.

Kurenai was stunned at the news. She couldn't believe that her little sister in name, and daughter in spirit, was in a coma.

'Curse you Neji Hyuga!' She thought as she put up a strong front for her team.

Shino said nothing but the buzzing of his insects became louder. If one where to look closely enough, they would see a slight tremble in his arms.

Naruto said nothing. He had fallen to his knees at the news and felt like he couldn't breathe. This feeling was a thousand times greater than when he was placed on team seven. He lifted his unbelieving eyes to the still form of Hinata. He stood and placed a trembling hand on her hand. The doctors had left at this point to give the team some time alone.

Shino walked over to Hinata and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze before he turned to leave. He seemed calm, but his stance revealed his despair.

Kurenai let Shino go as she knew he needed time to process what had happened. She turned to Naruto and saw the tears that had fallen onto the sheets. She saw that he was indeed crying and that his eyes looked almost empty.

"Naruto." She said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

This seemed to break him out of his stupor, but his reaction was not what Kurenai was expecting. She had thought he would either breakdown, leave like Shino, or even run away in anger and sadness. However, he simply wiped his eyes, gave Hinata's hand a gentle squeeze, and turned to her. She could see that he had brought up a mask as his eyes expressed no emotion, they might as well have been dead.

"When can we begin training Kurenai-sensei?" He asked. His tone revealing no hint as to his feelings.

"Don't do that Naruto." Kurenai admonished.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Naruto, I am your sensei and you will not run from this! I know you are hurting and that you want it to stop, but hiding that pain won't make it go away." She said in a stern tone. She may have come off as harsh but he needed to know that running from his problems didn't make them go away.

"What about Shino! You let him leave!" Naruto yelled as the mask broke and his anger quickly returned.

"Shino isn't running form the issue. He is simply taking some time to deal with it, pain and all. You however are trying to bury it." Kurenai retorted.

Naruto didn't reply, he turned and left the room slamming the door on his way out.

Kurenai sighed as she looked at Hinata again. She knew that Naruto was not really angry at her. He needed to release his anger but had nothing to release it on. She knew that provoking him would get him to open up again, even at the cost of his anger being directed at her. She refused to let him hide behind a mask of indifference. She knew that nothing good would ever come from bottling up an emotion and trying to seal it away rather than dealing with it. She only hoped that Naruto didn't try to put the mask up again later on.

'You have to deal with this Naruto, because like it or not, this will not be the last time you have to come to the hospital to see at friend of yours.' She thought sadly as she sat down and began to weep silently for her little sister.

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'How dare she! She has no right to tell me what I can or can't do!' Naruto thought as he arrived at the training field. He began to push himself harder than ever. He wanted to do anything that would block out the pain, anything to take his mind off the very real fact that his best friend may never wake up.

'Is that all Hinata-chan is to me? Is she only a friend?' He asked himself as he finally fell to his knees in exhaustion. His arms and legs felt like they were made out of lead, his breathing came in short pants, even his clothes were torn and cut in various places. The training field had seen better days. The practice dummies were all destroyed, the trees were broken, the ground itself was riddled with holes were exploding clones had once stood.

He rolled onto his back and gazed at the sky. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring up the mask that he had used for so long to block the pain. He couldn't hide his emotions like he wanted. He kept seeing Hinata grab her head in pain; he kept seeing that sick smirk on Neji's face as he watched her writhe on the floor. Most of all he would never forget that blood curtailing shriek of agony leaving her mouth. Naruto felt his rage grow once again at the thoughts that continued to replay through his mind.

'When we fight Neji, I will make you pay for everything you have done!' He thought as he continued to lie on his back awaiting his strength to return.

"My, you really did a number out here." Kurenai said as she gazed down at him.

"Hey Kurenai-sensei." Naruto said in a tired tone.

"How are you Naruto?" She said with a kind smile.

"I'm sorry about earlier Kurenai-sensei." He said with humility.

"It's okay Naruto, I understand how hard it was for you to see her like that." She said as she sat beside him.

"I can't stop thinking about what happened." He said with a grimace.

"Nor should you. You need to accept the fact that it happened as well as the fact that it may happen again." Kurenai said.

"I'll never let that happen to Hinata-chan again, even if I have to break every Hyuga's hands!" Naruto snarled as he sat up.

"I'm glad to hear that, but I was talking about one of your teammates being hurt. No matter how hard we try, there is always a risk that one of our comrades will be hurt or even killed on a mission. It's a fact that we must accept. I know seeing Hinata like that was hard but you need to accept that it may happen again." Kurenai said.

Naruto didn't respond. He seemed to be in deep thought until he looked up to Kurenai with a new determination.

"You're right. I can't protect her from everything, but I'm going to do everything in my power to try." He said with a renewed fire in his eyes.

"And what about the times she does get hurt?" Kurenai asked, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Then the ones responsible will meet the same fate as Neji." Naruto said with a dark look on his face and a large killing intent began to rise up from him.

"Come on let's go get you some ramen." Kurenai said after a moment, hoping to break the dark thoughts she was certain were circulating through his head.

They walked together toward the ramen stand both concerned about Hinata, but focused on what was to come in a month.

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Shino was standing on a hill close to his clan's estate thinking about everything that had happened. Kurenai had found him earlier and they had discussed how he was coping. Shino had simply told her that he was upset and needed time alone. She had respected his decision and left to find Naruto.

'Understandable, knowing Naruto he is either training himself into the ground or thinking of creative ways to make Neji suffer.' Shino thought, his insect buzzing loudly when he thought about the Hyuga.

Shino sighed at the thought that he wouldn't be able to make the Hyuga pay but he decided that it was fitting that Naruto be the one to fight him. Naruto's reaction showed the depth he cared for Hinata, even if he didn't consciously acknowledge those feelings yet.

Shino turned his mind onto his fight in one month. He was facing Tenten, Neji's teammate. He had gotten over his initial anger, as he knew that she didn't condone what Neji had done and that it would be cruel of him to take out his frustration on an innocent party. Be that as it may, he knew that the fight with her would be difficult. He wouldn't be able to lure her into a close quarters fight as she had shown herself to be a long range fighter, and an incredibly accurate one at that. She had not missed once during the preliminary fight. Every weapon found its mark and was thrown effectively to immobilize her opponent.

Shino knew that he was at a severe disadvantage in this fight. She would stay back and make his insects useless. His dodging skills were also not up to par with Tenten's ability to riddle him with weapons.

Shino was suddenly ripped from his thoughts when he sensed the insect Haku kept with her approaching. He turned and saw Haku approaching him. She wore a simple pink tank top with a white skirt. She stopped behind him without saying anything. She knew that he was not in a good mood and was calmly waiting for him to acknowledge whether he wanted company or not.

"Hello Haku-chan." Shino said after a moment.

"Hello Shino-kun. Is something wrong?" She asked with concern in her warm brown eyes as she came to stand beside him.

"What would give you that idea?" He asked.

Haku held up a finger that held his insect. "This little guy wouldn't stop buzzing." She said, giving him an expecting look.

Shino sighed and sat down. Haku joined him on the ground and continued to wait for him to tell her what was wrong, or not, depending on his mood. Shino began by telling her everything that had transpired him the exams. He told her about the first part of the exam, about the meeting with Orochimaru in the second part of the exam. She smiled when he told her about his victory over Kiba and Naruto's victory over Dosu. He paused for a moment and she knew that what he was about to say was the cause to his mood. She gasped when she learned about the fight between Hinata and Nei as well as the use of the seal and Hinata subsequent coma.

Haku looked at Shino with sadness. She could see that he was very upset about what had happened, but was not allowing himself to express his grief. She calmly wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder in comfort.

Shino stiffened at the contact. Not even Naruto and Hinata would give him physical contact, as to respect his space. He was unused to such a gesture from anyone other than his mother, but he couldn't deny the warm feeling that seemed to radiate from her body. Shino was not someone who openly expressed his emotions, but the comfort from Haku was breaking his resolve and he could feel the tears that he held within him slowly working their way toward his eyes and down his cheeks. He silently wept for Hinata in the arms of Haku. Neither spoke as there was no need for words at the moment.

After a few minutes, Haku felt Shino compose himself and she shyly released him. She could tell that he needed comfort in that moment, he just wouldn't admit it. She was surprised when he grabbed one of her hands in his and simply looked at her. She knew that this was his way of thanking her.

"Are you better Shino-kun?" She asked softly.

"I am." He said as he stood up. He helped her to her feet as well, but seemed reluctant to release her hand.

"You are fighting a weapons expert in the third exam correct?' Haku asked, hoping to bring up a new conversation. The way he was gazing at her made her heart flutter at the same time that it confused her.

"Yes." Shino said slowly releasing her hand. He had seen that she was slightly uncomfortable with his gaze, and was hoping to set her at ease.

"Well I think I can help you." Haku said with a sweet smile.

"How?" Shino asked as he quickly dodged a senbon needle thrown at him.

"I'll help teach you to dodge!" Haku said as she began throwing more senbon needles at him, her smile never leaving her face.

'Where is she getting all those needles from?' Shino thought as he continued to dodge the projectiles.

Neither of them noticed Shibi Aburame looking at them from a distance.

'Interesting.' Shibi thought as he continued to watch his son run from the girl.

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Rock Lee was currently sitting beside Sakura's bed side, watching her as she slept. The doctors had said that she would recover, but her legs were badly damaged and she would not be able to use them for a while.

'Gaara of the desert, I will make you pay for what you have done to my fallen flower princess.' He thought as he held her still hand.

"Lee! Are you ready for your training?!" Gai said as he came in to see his prize student sitting beside Sakura.

"I am Gai-sensei." Lee said in a low voice.

Gai looked at Lee for a moment in surprise. Lee was normally as loud and exuberant as he was, especially when it came to training, but he now seemed much more subdued and serious.

"I can understand that you are upset with what happened to her Lee, but don't let that hinder you. If you don't give your all in training then you will end up right here beside her. Gaara of the desert will not be an easy opponent." Gai said in an equally calm and low voice. Any jonin who knew Gai would have pinched themselves at his tone.

"I will give my all Gai-sensei. I will avenge Sakura-chan!" Lee said.

"Then let's go Lee. We have a lot of training to do." Gai said.

"What about Tenten and….Neji." Lee said, his voice filled with disdain when uttering the Hyuga's name.

"Tenten is going to train on her own, and I really couldn't care less about what Neji is doing." Gai said with equal disdain. Some might find it surprising that he would talk about his student in such a way, but Gai was abhorred by Neji's actions and couldn't bring himself to congratulate the young ninja for passing the preliminaries.

"I had always thought it would be me who would finally defeat Neji, but I believe that Naruto will be the one to do it." Lee said as they gave Sakura's hand one final squeeze before rising and following his sensei out the door.

'If Naruto can defeat Neji, maybe that will finally open his eyes to the truth of the way he has been acting.' Gai thought as he led Lee to the training grounds for intense training. Gaara would be a very tough opponent and if Lee wasn't ready for him then he could end up in a worse state than Sakura.

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Ino awakened with a massive headache.

'What hit me? Oh yeah it was that strange puppet.' She thought as she took notice to the room's only other occupant.

"Shikamaru?" Ino asked in confusion.

"Oh, you're awake." He said in a dull tone.

"Can't you even act like you were concerned for me?!" Ino yelled.

"Whatever, your life was never in danger. Don't be such a drama queen." Shikamaru said, his tone not changing.

"Well, tell me what happened." Ino said as she sat up. Ino had an obsession with knowing what was always going on.

Shikamaru began to explain everything that happened after she lost and was taken away.

'Choji has to fight that puppet guy?' Ino thought to herself. She was slightly afraid for her other teammate.

"Hey where is Choji and Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked.

"They left a little while ago. Choji was adamant about training." Shikamaru said.

"Choji? All he ever wants to do is eat. He doesn't like to fight." Ino said in a disbelieving voice.

"Yeah I know. It was weird seeing him like that. He took one look at you and immediately wanted to start training to prepare for the finals. Something's got him upset and ready to fight." Shikamaru said in a bored tone. However, he knew very well what had inspired his friend.

Shikamaru was easily the smartest genin, and probably one of the smartest ninja in the village. While he always came off as lazy and bored, he was actually incredibly perceptive and an amazing strategist. He had never lost one game of shogi against his sensei. He knew about Choji's crush on Ino and always comforted the gentle genin when Ino would go off on how Sasuke was the only man for her.

"What about you Shikamaru? You have to fight that sand girl." Ino said.

"I know, it's so troublesome." He said as he rose to his feet.

"Where are you going? To train?" She asked.

"Nope, I'm going to watch the clouds." He said lazily.

"Don't you care about your fight in a month?" Ino asked incredulously. She knew him to be lazy, but she thought that even he would be at least a little excited at the prospect of becoming a chunin.

"Nope." He simply said as he turned and left.

"This sucks! I don't want to be here by myself." Ino yelled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Choji will be by later." Shikamaru said softly.

"What did you say?" Ino asked curiously.

"Nothing." He said as he turned and walked away. Ino may not realize Choji feelings toward her yet, and he sure wasn't going to be the one to spill the beans to her.

"Shikamaru, if you see Choji tell him I say good luck with his training." Ino said as she lay back down.

"I will." Shikamaru said with a hint of surprise in his voice. Ino rarely showed either he or Choji her kind side.

'Maybe Choji will tell her one day. Oh well, it's none of my business.' The young genius thought as he left.

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"Thanks for doing this Kurenai-sensei." Naruto said as he continued to eat his ramen.

"It's no problem Naruto." Kurenai replied as she gazed at him. He was eating very slowly and she could tell that Hinata's condition was still on his mind.

Ayame and Teuchi looked at their best customer with concern. Naruto had not even finished one bowl of ramen yet.

"So are you going to train me and Shino for the third round of the exams?" Naruto asked as he put down his chopsticks.

"Shino told me that he wanted to train alone. As for you, well that may be a problem." Kurenai said.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because I'm going to train you."

"Naruto and Kurenai looked behind them and saw Kakashi walking into the ramen stand.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Well I couldn't help but here the conversation and decided to help you Naruto." Kakashi said with a smile.

"Why would you want to train me? What about team seven?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well none of them made it to the third round and as of right now they're all indisposed." Kakashi said.

Kakashi was truly a jonin without a team at the moment. Sakura was still in the hospital recovering from her wounds. Kiba had decided to train with his clan to become stronger with Akamaru. Sasuke had woken up, but Kakashi had made him take a psychiatric session to determine his mental state. Kakashi was still concerned about the curse seal that was placed on him. Sasuke had willingly used it during the preliminaries and Kakashi wanted to make sure that Sasuke was mentally healthy enough to train later.

Kurenai looked at her fellow jonin for a moment. If she were honest with herself then she would admit that one point that Kakashi was right about when they both argued over attaining Naruto was that Kakashi could teach him more powerful techniques. She knew that Naruto would never be able to pull off complex genjutsu because of his large chakra reservoir. Kakashi knew a multitude of powerful ninjutsu and she was sure that Naruto would benefit from his teaching.

"I think that it's a good idea." Kureani said.

"Really?" both Naruto and Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"Sure, you were right about one thing Kakashi and that's that you could teach Naruto more techniques then I could. I trust you to train him." She said.

Kakashi was stunned. Sure, he and Kurenai were getting along much better after the wave mission and were actually growing more comfortable around one another, but he didn't think that she would agree so easily.

"Well, what do you think Naruto?" Kurenai asked the young ninja.

"You promise that I'll get stronger?" Naruto asked Kakashi and Kurenai.

"Kakashi is one of the best in the village. Train with him and I'm sure that you will improve." Kurenai said.

Kakashi said a small smile at her praise of him.

"Okay then I accept." Naruto said with a smile.

"Great, meet me at the practice field tomorrow and get ready for a long hard month." Kakashi said.

"Are you going to late again?' Naruto said with an annoyed look on his face.

"Me? I'm shocked Naruto. Don't you have any faith in my ability to be on time?" Kakashi said with a mock hurt expression.

"Not at all." both Naruto and Kurenai answered.

"I promise to be on time." Kakshi said with a sigh.

"Great, thanks Kakashi-sensei. I'll see you later Kurenai-sensei." Naruto said as he stood and left.

Kakashi watched him leave and could tell something was wrong.

"It's Hinata." Kurenai said when he turned his questioning gaze to her.

Kurenai proceeded to explain about Hinata condition and Naruto's current emotional state.

"Well that will make this interesting. He could go from depression to rage in a split second." Kakashi stated.

"That's right. He still can't find a way to cope with what happened." Kurenai said as she stood up to leave.

Kakashi rose as well and walked with her.

"How are you holding up?" Kakashi asked, knowing how much Kurenai cared for Hinata.

"It's not the first time someone close to me has gotten hurt." Kurenai said with no emotion.

Kakashi stared at her for a moment but could see that she wasn't going to divulge more.

'Understandable, I still can't quite cope with what happened to my team.' He thought as they arrived at Kurenai's house.

"What are you going to teach him?" Kurenai asked curiously, though there was a hint of suspicion in her gaze.

"I planned to work on his stamina a little more and teach him a few long range attacks." Kakashi stated.

"Why?" Kurenai asked.

"I'm sure you've seen it Kurenai. Naruto excels at close range combat, but that won't be enough. Neji Hyuga is an expert of the jyuuken style and to fight a Hyuga up close is near suicide unless you have the byakugan or the sharingan. Rock Lee excels at taijutsu and his speed would make him impossible for Naruto to keep up with, shadow clones or not. Gaara of the desert has already shown that his sand can protect him from any close range attacks." Kakashi calmly explained.

"You have a point. As good as Naruto is, he needs to become a better rounded shinobi." Kurenai admitted.

"Leave it to me Kurenai. I'll be sure to train him well." Kakashi said with a smile as he turned to leave.

"Kakashi." Kurenai said.

"Yes?" he stated as he turned around. Only to be met face to face with her angry red eyes.

"You had better not teach him anything perverted." She said with finality.

"What are you talking about?' Kakashi asked.

"You know very well what I'm talking about. I don't want Naruto telling me that you are reading those orange books around him, and you had better not try and get him to read one. If I hear from him that you have then me and Anko will have to pay you a little visit." Kurenai said with a vicious smirk that left Kakashi sweating.

"I-I promise Kurenai. Don't worry about it." He said as he raised his hands in an attempt to calm her down.

"Good." She said with a smile as the anger left her eyes and she turned to enter her house.

'She can be scary sometimes.' Kakashi thought.

"Kakashi, one more thing." Kurenai said.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Thanks for doing this for him." She said with a warm smile.

"It's no problem Kurenai. I want to help him." He said with a smile of his own as he turned a left.

'I hope you improve Naruto. I have a feeling that you will need everything you've got for the coming round.' Kurenai thought as she walked inside.

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Naruto walked inside his apartment still in a solemn mood. His emotions had been all over the place today. He sighed as he put up his cloths, but stopped when he stared at his sword. He still couldn't feel anything from it.

'What's wrong with this thing?' He thought.

"I'm disappointed in you Naruto."

"What do you want?" Naruto said tiredly as he turned to look at the black clocked figure in his room.

"It looks like you have had a rough day." The figure stated.

"What do you want?" Naruto repeated himself. He was in no mood for the figure's games.

The figure walked over and took the blade from his hands. He inspected it for a moment then handed it back to him.

"Did you learn anything about it?" the man asked.

"I talked to the Kyuubi and he told me that this sword is a beacon." Naruto stated in an accusing voice.

"He was correct." The man said calmly.

"Then why didn't you tell me yourself?! Maybe if you had told me everything then it wouldn't have shut down on me when I used it's chakra with the Kyuubi's!" Naruto yelled. He had had a long day and was still looking for something to let his anger out on.

"I told you all you needed to know. Tell me, did the sword warn you against using it along with the Kyuubi's chakra?" The man asked, though his tone revealed that he already knew the answer.

Naruto's expression went from angry to ashamed quickly.

"That's what I thought." The man said.

"I told you that a true swordsman listens to his blade. You didn't and you faced the consequences. The sword has not shut down. It simply doesn't want to talk to you anymore." He stated calmly.

"What?" Naruto asked confused.

"The sword isn't a machine. It is semi-sentient and to put it simply, you hurt its pride." The man elaborated.

"How did I do that?" Naruto asked.

"Tell me Naruto, if you had a friend that you always helped every time they needed it, and one day they decided to ignore you advice and help and do things their own way how would you feel?" The man asked.

"I would feel upset." Naruto answered truthfully.

"You need to gain its trust and respect back." The man said as he turned to walk away.

"How do I do that?" Naruto asked.

"That's something you need to figure out on your own." The man said without turning around.

"Wait! What about the other stuff Kyuubi said. Why is the sword back? Why was I chosen to use it? What is its purpose?" Naruto asked franticly.

"That is a secret!" the man said as he disappeared.

Naruto wanted to pull his hair out, but refrained from doing so.

'Will I ever get a straight answer out of him?' he thought as he looked at his blade again.

'So I've got to gain its trust and respect back? How do I do that?' Naruto thought. He shook his head and decided to get some rest. Tomorrow would be a long day of training and he wanted to be ready.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, an Anbu was watching him through his window.

'Danzo-sama will be interested in hearing about this.' The Anbu thought as he disappeared.

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**Here's chapter 19. Sorry if it's a little slow. The next chapter will feature our favorite genin beginning their training regiments. How will Naruto regain the trust of his sword? What does Danzo have planned for our young hero? Will I ever tell you the identity of the mysterious figure?! That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Disclamier: Don't own Naruto**

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"Is this all you have to report?" Danzo asked the Anbu that had been watching Naruto.

"Hai, Danzo-sama." The Anbu confirmed from his kneeling position.

"Very well, dismissed." Danzo replied.

Danzo was one of the oldest ninja in the village. He had only one arm, a slight limp that required him to use a cane, and wrappings around his head. Yet, he was one of the most dangerous men in the village. Danzo was always a combatant to the third as he never believed in peace or unity. He was a war hawk who believed that peace was for the weak and the strong should rule over the weak.

He had under his command an army of specially trained Anbu, the group was called Root. His men were trained to show no emotion. They held neither compassion nor mercy, they were heartless killing machines. Danzo knew about Naruto being the Kyuubi container, as did the rest of the council that ran Konoha. Danzo had wanted to train the boy from birth to become the ultimate weapon, but the third had squashed that plan. Regardless, Danzo had always kept an eye open with the boy, looking for any chance to bring him under his control.

Danzo had assigned an Anbu to trail the boy after he learned about his exploits during the chunin exam. That Naruto had faced Orochimaru face to face and walked away was very impressive. However, the report his subordinate delivered left him with more questions than answers. Nothing was out of the ordinary for the whole day until the boy went home to rest. According to the Anbu, Naruto was acting normally until he looked at his sword and simply zoned out for a few minutes. He didn't move, he didn't even blink. It was as if he was in a trance. Then he suddenly broke out of the trance and continued as if nothing had happened.

"Something isn't right about this." Danzo told himself as he contemplated the enigma that was Naruto.

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Naruto fell to the ground in utter exhaustion. He had been training since early in the morning. Kakashi had actually been on time every day, and he had upheld his promise to train Naruto. Naruto had been through a rigorous workout that left him on his knees panting for breath.

"Is that all you've got Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he looked at the young genin.

"No way." Naruto said as he climbed to his feet.

"Good, for the rest of the week we'll be working on your strength and speed. Next week we will begin your training with long range techniques." Kakashi said.

"How many of them do you think I'll be able to learn in time for the exam?" Naruto asked with a hint of enthusiasm.

"That depends on you. Now let's continue." Kakashi said as he revealed his Sharingan and attacked.

He was not giving it his all, but he wanted Naruto to experience what it would be like to fight an opponent with advanced sight. Naruto's true dragon style was perfect for such an opponent as the style itself was impossible to predict thanks to the randomness of the style. However, Naruto needed to improve in it. He was still not a master of the style and the small flaws in it would be picked up on by Neji's byakugan and exploited.

Kakashi had suggested that Naruto focus solely on learning to use a few long range attacks and fight Neji at a distance. However, the blonde shinobi had no plans to fight in such a way. He planned to be up close and personal with the Hyuga and beat him to within an inch of his life. Thus, Kakashi had decided to help Naruto prepare for a close range fight and began to spar with him.

'Naruto is very strong; however, I need to find out just how much control he has over his emotions.' Kakashi thought as he jumped back.

"Come on Naruto is that all you've got? You won't be able to beat Neji with this amount of effort." Kakashi said in a bored tone, watching Naruto's reaction.

Naruto snarled at the mention of Neji's name. He was visibly trembling in fury. His eyes began to turn crimson.

'That's not good. He won't be able to think clearly.' Kakashi thought as he watched Naruto eventually reign in his anger.

"I will defeat him! Maybe if he's lucky I'll even allow him to walk away alive." Naruto said with his eyes freezing over.

Kakashi looked at him for a moment and couldn't help but see the resemblance with Sasuke and his hate for his brother at that moment.

"Let's continue." He said as he dropped into his stance.

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Sarutobi took a deep breath and let it out slowly in anticipation. There were few things that made him as uncomfortable as what he was about to do.

"Hokage-sama, Hiashi Hyuga is here." His assistant informed.

"Thank you, send him in." he said as he prepared himself for what was sure to be a heated conversation.

Hiashi Hyuga was the leader of the Hyuga clan and the father of Hinata and her little sister Hanabi. He was considered to be a very cold man, who thought only about the good of his clan. Compassion was not a word that was ever associated with him.

He walked in with a stance and aura of superiority. His cold white eyes betrayed nothing about his feelings and his stare would have frozen a lesser man in their place.

"How may I help you Hokage-sama." Hiashi said emotionlessly, though he did give the third a small bow of respect.

"Hiashi-san, I am glad that you could join me." Sarutobi replied with a bow of his own.

"I am always prepared to speak with the leader of the village. Why have you scheduled a meeting with me?" Haishi asked.

"It's pertaining to the event that transpired during the preliminary round." Sarutobi stated.

"What about them?" Hiashi commented, though he had a good idea what this was about.

"The fight between Neji and Hinata Hyuga has left a bit of controversy among the participants and the spectators." The third answered.

"There is no Hinata Hyuga, Hokage-sama." Hiashi stated, his tone becoming like ice.

"Be that as it may, the fight itself has left me with a problem that I would like to see corrected." Sarutobi said forcibly. He may have respected Hiashi for his skills, but he couldn't help but dislike a man that would disown his daughter.

"And what problem might that be?"' Hiashi said, his expression darkening.

"Neji used the seal on Hinata, and while this was not against the rules it did results in her falling into a coma, which she has still not recovered from." Saruboti said, his expression hardening as well.

"And?" Hiashi said, not showing a glimpse of emotion at the news about his daughter.

"And, I don't want this incident to happen again!" Sarutobi said with authority.

"She has the seal on her, which means that any one of the main family may punish her if they see fit." Hiashi said, his tone becoming colder.

"That is where you are wrong. I couldn't do anything about the seal being placed on her forehead during the academy as she was not yet a genin and still fell under your rules. However, she is now a legal ninja of the leaf village and I am within my rights as the Hokage to make sure that one of my ninja are not harmed. I am ordering you to remove the seal!" Sarutobi said.

"I am afraid that is not possible." Hiashi said after a moment of silence.

"Why is that?" Sarutobi said with a suspicious stare.

"I am afraid that there is no way to remove the seal." Hiashi calmly stated.

"You lie Hiashi! I heard Neji himself say that his seal was removed the same day that Hinata's was placed on her head." The third stated.

"He was mistaken, once a seal has been placed on a ninja, the only way for the seal to be removed is for it to be transferred from one ninja to the next. Hinata's seal was once Neji's. Death is the only way to completely destroy the seal." Hiashi said.

"I don't believe you." Sarutobi said.

"Believe what you must Hokage-sama, but the fact remains that there is no way to remove that seal." Hiashi stated.

"Then I forbid your clan from using it against her. If I hear about it happening again, then your entire clan will be subject to punishment." Sarutobi said in a deadly serious tone.

"You can't do that!" Hiashi exclaimed, finally showing emotion.

"I already have! I am the Hokage and you would do well to remember that fact Hiashi! Hinata is a ninja and I refuse to see one of my ninja tormented by an abusive former family!" The third said in a definite tone.

"My apologies Hokage-_sama_." Hiashi said in a tone that was just shy of being disrespective.

"Very well then, you are dismissed." Sarutboi said as he turned his back on the Huyga clan head.

Hiashi turned on his heel and swiftly left, his anger almost palpable.

'I am sorry Hinata, Naruto, but there is little more I can do.' Sarutobi thought. While he was within his rights to forbid the use of the seal on Hinata, he couldn't force Hiashi to reveal if there truly was a way to remove the seal. Without evidence that the Hyuga clan head had just lied to him, he couldn't perform an investigation.

'The again, Naruto is known for doing the impossible. Maybe he'll find a way.' The third thought as he looked to the Hokage Mountain, specifically the head of the fourth hokage.

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Kurenai was walking toward the hospital to check up on Hinata, it had been two weeks since she was in a coma, but there were no signs that she would be waking up. Every day that went by without improvement was like a lifetime to her. She had heard some unsettling news from Kakashi about Naruto.

It seemed that he was holding onto a very thin line of control over his anger and Kakashi was concerned that he might do something drastic during the exams. Kurenai couldn't help but agree. Naruto had stopped coming to the hospital as it only increased his anger and grief over Hinata, though he did tell Kurenai to inform him if there was any change. Since then, Naruto had refrained from associating with others. He seemed to be withdrawing from others in an attempt to prevent further pain should something happen to them. Kurenai knew that this was a natural response when hurt so drastically for the first time, but she hoped that something good would happen to break in out of it.

As she approached Hinata's room, she felt the presence of another person inside the room. She knew it wasn't Naruto or Shino as they had very distinct chakra signatures. Whoever was in the room held an aura of incredible power that was being restrained. Had she not been a jonin and actually trying to gauge the strength of the person, she would easily have been fooled into thinking the person was as weak as a regular villager. She knew that she was not as powerful as the person, thus she tried to discern their intentions by sneaking carefully to the door and listening to hear what they were doing.

"So this is Hinata. Yes, I can see why Naruto likes her. Hmm, I agree I believe that it is time for her to wake up." Kurenai heard from the room.

Kurenai was very suspicious as to the person.

'Who are they talking to? How do they know Hinata? How do they know Naruto?' She thought as she prepared to enter the room.

"That is a secret." She heard whispered into her ear from behind.

Kurenai whipped around with a punch, only to have her fist blocked and held by a mysterious man wrapped in a black cloak.

"So you are Naruto's sensei." The figure stated calmly.

"Who are you?" Kurenai asked in suspicion and a bit of fear. She could feel the man's power from his hand that was still holding her arm.

"You have done a good job in training Naruto and Hinata. You are a true testament to the strength of Konoha." The figure stated, ignoring her question.

"I asked you a question." Kurenai said as she ripped her hand from his grasp and began to make hand signs.

"Now, now there's no reason to fight me." The figure said as he raised his hands in defense.

"What are you doing here?" Kurenai asked dangerously.

"Just checking up on Hinata." He said shortly.

"Why? How do you know her?" Kurenai asked.

"I know a lot, Kurenai Yuhi." He said softly.

"Enough! I want answers and I want them now!" she yelled.

"I think you may want to check on Hinata instead." He said, showing no fear to her words.

"What have you done?!!' Kurenai yelled in rage as she grabbed him by his collar.

"See for yourself." He said, still showing no fear toward the irate ninja.

Kurenai ran into the room and saw that Hinata was beginning to awaken.

"Hinata!" Kurenai yelled in relief as she pulled her little sister into a hug.

"K-Kurenai-nee-san, what happened?" Hinata asked, her mind attempting to readjust itself.

"You were in a coma from Neji's attack." Kurenai said after releasing her.

"A-a coma?" Hinata stuttered in disbelief.

"It's okay now Hinata. You're going to be okay." Kurenai said with a heartfelt smile as the doctors rushed in to examine her, apparently they heard the commotion.

Kurenai suddenly remembered the man, and quickly rushed back into the hallway. She looked around but he had disappeared.

'Who was that?' Kurenai thought. She shook herself out of her thoughts and turned to return to Hinata's room.

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Sakura awoke with a groan. She had been in the hospital for the past two weeks recovering. She had several broken bones, but the worst was her legs. The sand had nearly crushed them and she was confined to her bed until they healed. She was so bored! She wanted to do something. However, it wasn't all bad.

She smiled when she thought about her constant visitor. Lee would come by every day with flowers and would always make her feel better.

'What am I feeling with Lee? He's saved me so many times when he didn't have too. He's strong, kind, funny and honest. He treats me like a princess and I know he cares about me.' Sakura thought.

She was ripped from her thoughts when her door opened and Lee rushed in.

"Sakura-chan how are you today? Are you feeling better? Are your legs healing?" Lee asked in quick succession.

Sakura laughed at his enthusiasm, before placing a hand over his.

"I'm fine Lee-kun. I just wish I could leave this bed." She said in exasperation.

"That can be arranged!" Gai said as he appeared.

"What do you mean Gai-sensei?" Lee asked his mentor.

"Sakura how would you like to come and watch Lee train?" Gai asked.

"Really?!" Both Lee and Sakura asked in surprise.

"As long as you promise to take it easy." Gai said with a smile.

"I would love to." Sakura said happily.

"Then let's go!" Lee yelled as he picked Sakura up bridal style.

"Ah!" Sakura yelled in surprise as Lee began to walk through the door.

Gai watched as Sakura and Lee arrived at the training fields. It normally took Lee far less time to arrive, but he was making sure that he was moving at a comfortable speed for Sakura's sake. Gai could only smile at the way his student seemed to care for the young kunoichi.

Sakura sat down and stayed out of the way while Lee began to train. Sakura could barely believe her eyes. Lee pushed himself beyond what should have been possible. She knew that this came from his desire to show the world that he would become a great ninja even without the use of ninjutsu or genjutsu.

'You'll do it Lee-kun. You will become a great ninja through taijutsu alone.' She thought with a smile as she continued to watch Lee train, enjoying the warm day and the warm feelings Lee invoked inside of her.

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Asuma couldn't help but be awe inspired with Choji's inspiration. From the very day that they were given a month to train, Choji had pushed himself to the breaking point. He was always on time for practice; he never complained about the work he had to do, he didn't even worry about food. He was solely focused on becoming stronger.

"Choji, why don't we take a break or a minute." Asuma said.

"Hai Asuma-sensei." Choji replied as he came to sit beside his sensei.

"I am very pleased by your work effort Choji. Keep this up and you'll be ready for the finals." Asuma said as he gave the large genin a smile.

"I hope so Asuma-sensei. I want to make that make-up wearing freak pay." Choji said a bit darkly.

"Don't let your anger rule you Choji. If you are ruled by your emotions then you can trust me when I say that you won't ever become a chunin." Asuma stated.

Choji seemed to calm down at this and nodded his head in acceptance.

"Hey Asuma-sensei, do you know where Shikamaru is?" Choji asked.

"Knowing Shikamaru, he's probably taking a nap somewhere." Asuma said with a sigh.

"Don't you think he should be training for the third round? That sand girl doesn't look like a push over." Choji said with concern for his best friend.

"I wouldn't worry about him Choji. Okay, let's continue." Asuma said as he stood.

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Asuma was correct about Shikamaru. He was currently lying on a hill watching the clouds float by. Shikamaru had no desire to train as he thought it too troublesome.

'Man it would be great to be a cloud. You'd never have to worry about anything.' Shikamaru thought as she continued to watch the clouds float by.

"Hey you!"

Shikamaru sighed, knowing that his peaceful day was about to be ruined. He sat up and saw the sand girl, Temari walking toward him.

"Wait do you want?" He asked lazily, though his expression showed his annoyance.

"You're the guy I'm fighting in the third round right? How about a little spar?" Temari said with a predatory look on her face.

"No thanks." Shikamaru replied as he lay back down.

"That's too bad, but I really wasn't giving you a choice!" Temari yelled as she swung her fan down.

Shikamaru rolled out of the way and avoided the blow. He stood up and watched the girl in front of him to see if she was about to attack again.

"Troublesome, why do you want to fight now? Can't you at least wait until the third round of the exams?" Shikamaru asked.

"What's with you? Don't you care at all about the chunin exams?" Temari questioned. Truth be told, she wanted a spar to test out his abilities. Temari was known for being a great strategist, but she had seen something in Shikamaru during the preliminaries. While many assumed that he had won by blind luck, she knew better. She knew that he had planned everything out perfectly and she wanted to see just how big of a threat he could be.

"Not at all. Whether or not I make chunin doesn't matter to me." He said as he lay back down.

"Hey aren't you afraid that I'll attack you?" She asked.

"Not really, if you attack me without my consent to it being a mutually agreed upon spar, then you will be penalized and possibly even ejected from the finals." Shikamaru stated calmly.

Temari's eye twitched in annoyance. She always had to have the last word in an argument, but he had just effectively ended the conversation.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, in an attempt to end the confrontation with some of her dignity intact.

"Clouds." Shikamaru answered.

"Why?" Temari asked in confusion.

"Why not, they have a much better existence than us. They are so peaceful to watch." Shikamaru stated.

Shikamaru wasn't sure what possessed him to answer Temari. He usually ignored people that annoyed him. However, he didn't think about it anymore as he assumed she would leave soon. He was mistaken as she lay down and looked up towards the sky as well.

'What's she doing?' Shikamaru thought in confusion. He couldn't figure her out. Most females would have either left or continued to yell at him. He sighed at his inability to understand Temari and continued to watch the sky.

'Why am I doing this anyway?' Temari wondered herself. Normally she would yell at him some more, but she knew that it would be futile as her threats were empty. If she attacked him then he could very well get her disqualified. She had hoped that her presence would irk him, but after a while she felt herself relax. It was a comforting feeling to let go and just enjoy the clouds.

They lay there together, neither speaking nor associating with one another.

After a while Temari stood up, stretched and began to walk away.

Shikamaru watched her leave in silence. For some reason she intrigued him, though he would never admit that.

Temari turned around and looked at the young genin who continued to lie on the ground.

"Will you be here tomorrow." She asked.

"Why do you care?" he asked.

"Will you are not?!" She yelled in anger.

"Yes I will." He said with a sigh. He didn't want her losing her temper.

"See you tomorrow then." She said as she continued to walk away.

'What's up with her? She's got to be the strangest and most troublesome women I've ever met, other than my mother.' Shikamaru thought with a sigh.

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"Ow." Shino said as he tried to yank his arm away from Haku.

"Hold still Shino-kun." She said as she began to apply some cream she made to help with cuts and bruises.

"That hurts." Shino said with a wince.

"Well if you learned to dodge better then you wouldn't have been hit by so many of my senbon." Haku calmly retorted.

Shino didn't respond. Haku had been coming by everyday to help him train. He soon discovered that she was very serious about training him and the result normally left him with a multitude of cuts and injuries. Though, he did enjoy Haku taking care of him afterward.

Haku rubbed some of the on a small cut under his eye. Shino's face began to flush red from her gentle ministrations and he felt his eyes beginning to close at the comforting feeling. Most of their time spent together was normally spent in comfortable silence. Shino was never much of a talker and Haku simply enjoyed the peace she felt from his presence.

Shino felt his shades being pulled off and his hand instantly came up to grasp hers. She calmly looked at him for permission and he slowly released his grip. Haku fully removed his shades and stared into his brown eyes. Most Aburame wore their shades as too much light disturbed the insects living inside their bodies. However, Shino didn't feel the irritated shift of his insects within him from the sudden increased light, as he was far too preoccupied staring at Haku's face for the first time without his shades.

'She is beautiful.' Shino thought as he unconsciously leaned toward her.

Haku noticed that Shino was leaning slightly toward her and she couldn't stop herself from leaning toward him as well.

They were mere inches from one another when they heard someone clear their throat behind them. Shino and Haku moved apart quickly and looked toward the person that disturbed them.

They saw both Shibi and Akiko Aburame staring at them. Haku realized that these were Shino's parents and instantly bowed to them.

"Hello my name is Haku Momochi." She said.

"We know who you are." Shibi said without emotion. However, Akiko more than made up for his lack of enthusiasm.

"It is a pleasure to meet you! I am Akiko Aburame and you must be the sweet girl that my Shino talks so much about." Akiko said as she rushed up to Haku and wrapped her into a hug.

'Mother always was overly affectionate.' Shino thought as Akiko began to bombard Haku with all sorts of questions.

Shibi walked up to his son, his expression impossible to read.

"I see you are fond of her son." Shibi said.

"Hai, I am." Shino replied as he looked at Haku laughing at something Akiko was saying.

"I have a feeling that Akiko is telling her something you may not want revealed." Shibi said as Shino turned red again.

"She wouldn't tell her anything embarrassing would she." Shino asked in fear.

Shibi didn't reply. He simply looked at his son, which was answer enough.

Shino simply sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop his mother once she began telling stories.

"How much do you care for her Shino?" Shibi asked.

"I don't know." Shino answered truthfully. He was unsure of the true depth of feelings he held for Haku.

"Just be careful my son." Shibi said as they continued to watch Haku and Akiko talk and laugh, mostly at their expense.

After Shibi and Akiko had left, Shino walked toward Haku a bit fearful of what his mother had told him.

"What did she tell you?" Shino asked.

"Nothing truly important. Don't worry about it." Haku said with a smile that told Shino he definitely should worry about the information passed.

"Anyway it's time to get back to training." Haku said as she pulled out a scroll.

"More needles?" Shino asked with a sigh.

"Not today." Haku said with a smile as she released Zabuza's sword from the scroll.

"Today, we'll work on how you dodge large weapons." Haku said with a sweet smile.

'This is going to be a long day.' Shino thought as he began to run from the sword wielding chunin.

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"Let's take a break Naruto." Kakashi said as he sat down.

"No! Let's keep going!" Naruto said even as he looked ready to pass out on his feet.

"Even you need rest Naruto. It's just as important to your body and food." Kakashi said as he pulled out his Icha Icha book.

Naruto sat down when he realized nothing he could say would change the jonin's mind. Naruto didn't want to rest for the same reason that he hated going home. Without training on his mind, he was prone to think about Hinata. She was constantly on his mind and the mere thought of her was enough to nearly tear his heart apart as he continued to see her writhing on the ground in pain. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks as he would continuously have nightmares about what had happened.

"Naruto, you need to open up more." Kakashi said after a while.

"I remember you saying something like that during the wave mission." Naruto said bitterly.

"That's true, but this time I don't mean to me. While I would like you to one day consider me a close enough friend and teacher to share your feelings, I was talking about Shino and Kurenai. You are withdrawing yourself away from them and it's not healthy." Kakashi said.

"Just leave me alone." Naruto said grumpily as he turned around and continued to brood.

'I need something to break him out of this funk.' Kakashi thought as he looked at Naruto. While Naruto had been working hard and had gotten down one of the long range techniques they had worked on, he could see that Naruto was beginning to crack under the pressure placed on him. He needed something to relax him or he would be so high strung that something would eventually break. Kakashi didn't want to be around if something like that happened.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto's head whipped around so fast that Kakashi was surprised that he didn't get whiplash. He turned and saw that Kurenai and Hinata were walking toward them and Hinata was carrying a basket with her.

"Hinata-chan!!" Naruto yelled as he seemingly disappeared and reappeared beside her, wrapping hr in a bone crushing hug.

'So he did get faster.' Kakashi thought as Kurenai left the genin to talk between themselves.

"So when did she wake up?" Kakashi asked Kurenai.

"This morning." Kurenai replied, though something seemed to be troubling her.

"Something wrong?" Kakashi asked as he put his book away. He and Kurenai had been meeting regularly over the past two weeks to discuss Naruto's progress and he had begun to notice when she was upset.

"Maybe, I don't know." She said with a sigh as they watched Naruto eventually release Hinata, though they could tell by the way that he held her hand that he was far from done expressing his relief. Kakashi watched as Hinata led Naruto away to treat him to lunch. Naruto had eagerly agreed and both he and Hinata were now sitting together eating.

Kakashi's stomach growled and he was swiftly reminded that he was hungry as well. He soon smelt something delicious and turned to see that Kurenai had an assortment of food spread out before her as well.

Kurenai looked up and saw Kakashi nearly drooling through his mask at the sight of the food.

"Hey Kurenai, I was wondering if I could have a bite. I have been working hard you know." He said almost pleadingly.

"Fine Kakashi you can have some." Kurenai said with a sigh.

"Thanks, this smells delicious did you make it?" He asked as he sat down in front of her.

"That's right." She said as she closed her eyes with a self-satisfied look on her face. "I am the one who taught Hinata to cook after all."

"It was good too, thanks." Kakashi said as he stood and walked away.

Kurenai looked down and realized that all of the food was gone! Kakashi had devoured it in a moment when her eyes were closed.

"Kakashi!" she yelled in anger.

"Hmm, something wrong Kurenai?" He asked nonchalantly.

He swiftly ducked to avoid her thrown kunai and began to run when he saw the murderous look in her eyes.

'Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.' Kakashi thought as he continued to run from the angered jonin.

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Naruto and Hinata were enjoying the lunch Hinata had made when they heard someone screaming and saw Kakashi running after Kurenai. Apparently she had grabbed his book from him and was threatening to burn it. Naruto and Hinata laughed simultaneously at the scene and then turned to each other.

Naruto moved closer to her with barely concealed emotion evident in his eyes.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata stuttered at the emotion she saw on his face.

Naruto didn't reply as he got face to face with Hinata and began to slowly touch her face with his hands, as if he were trying to discern whether she was really there, and not a dream.

"I was so scared Hinata-chan." He said softly as he continued to gaze into her lavender eyes.

"I thought that I had lost my best friend. I thought that I had lost the first person to truly treat me with respect and affection. These past two weeks have been torture. Not knowing if you would ever wake up again." He said in a soft tone. His eyes held sadness of a depth that Hinata had only seen once. It was the same way her eyes looked when she was still part of the Hyuga clan. She remembered how her eyes were always full of despair and immeasurable sadness.

Hinata wrapped her arms around him and felt him nearly collapse on her as he grasped her and began to weep. Hinata held him as he released all of the pain, grief, and turmoil he held within him. She remembered that he held her in such a way when she had been banished and had saved her from her despair.

"I'll always be here for you Naruto-kun, just as you were always there for me." Hinata said softly.

She eventually heard Naruto stop crying and she realized soon that he had fallen asleep on her shoulder. She laid him down on the grass and snuggled up on his side. He unconsciously wrapped his arms around her and placed her head on his chest. While her face became very red, she refrained from moving as Naruto's steady heart beat lulled her to sleep as well.

Naruto woke up after a while and felt something warm on his chest. He slowly sat up and saw that Hinata was still asleep and resting quite comfortably on his chest. Naruto reached up and began to softly pet her head, sliding his hands through her hair. She seemed to enjoy this as she made an appreciative noise and snuggled closer to him.

'What am I feeling?' Naruto thought. He felt warm and at peace when Hinata was this close to him. He didn't understand all of the feelings, but he knew he didn't want them to stop. He remembered thinking that had lost his best friend and the mere thought that Hinata could have died made him feel like ice water was moving through his veins.

'She's not just my best friend.' Naruto thought to himself. He may not know just how much he cared for Hinata, but he definitely felt something more than friendship.

Hinata began to awaken and was met with the intense blue stare from Naruto. Normally being this close to him would cause her to blush, but they simply stared at each other for a moment before they began to move toward each other.

'What is this feeling?' both thought as their lips were mere inches from one another when a flash went off.

The moment broken, Naruto and Hinata both jumped away from one another with blushes so large that they made tomatoes pale in comparison.

They turned to see that Kakashi and Kurenai were both holding cameras and both had large grins on their faces.

"Darn they were so close. I told you to wait Kakashi." Kurenai said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get more chances in the future." He said with his usual smile.

"Well I have to go get these processed." Kurenai said with a laugh as Hinata ran after her.

"Kakashi-sensei, give me that camera." Naruto said.

"What makes you think I'll do that?" Kakashi asked.

"If you don't then I'll tell Anko-nee-san that you were reading those orange books around me." Naruto said with a smile.

Kakashi gulped in fear at the thought of Anko learning such information and swiftly threw him the camera.

"Don't look so confident Naruto." Kakashi said when he saw Naruto's cocky smile.

"I'm sure Kurenai will share the photo with Anko and Iruka." He said with a smile.

Naruto's eyes instantly widened and he rushed after Kurenai and Hinata.

Kakashi laughed for a while before he felt a presence behind him.

"What do you think about him Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked the man behind him.

Jiraiya was one of the three sannin of konoha. He was the teammate of Orochimaru and was known as the toad sage. He was also known for being the biggest pervert to ever be born. He was the author of the famed Icha Icha series that Kakashi was so fond of.

"I must say that I am impressed. He truly is Minato's son." Jiraiya said. He had long spiky white hair, wore a red sleeveless jacket over a green battle suit and wore wooden sandals; he had a plate with the kanji for oil on his forehead.

"Watching him is like watching Minato all over again, though his personality seems more like his mother." Jirayia stated a bit sadly.

Kakashi could understand his sad tone. Jiraiya had been the fourth Hokage's teacher and was one of the few people to know Naruto's true lineage as the son of the fourth hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife Kushina Uzumaki. Both had died the day the Kyuubi had attacked, leaving Jiraiya and Kakashi with deep emotional scars.

"I know what you mean. His spirit and determination are truly something he got from his parents." Kakashi said.

"Do you want to take over his training?" Kakashi asked.

"Not right now. Something big is coming up during the chunin exams and I have to find out what." Jiraiya said.

"Maybe after I figure this out I'll try and teach him some stuff. For right now I want you to continue to help him the best you can." Jiraiya said to Kakashi.

"Understood. He could truly surpass his father couldn't he?" Kakashi asked.

"He could very well become the best ninja this village has ever seen." Jiraiya stated as he turned to leave.

"You'll still be here for the exams right?" Kakashi asked.

"You bet! I can't wait to see what the kid pulls off." Jiraiya said with a laugh as he disappeared.

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And so the final two weeks quickly came to an end.

Naruto trained harder than before and was visited daily by Hinata.

Kakashi watched Naruto swiftly progress and couldn't help but feel pride rise up inside of him. He and Kurenai normally talked when she brought Hinata to see Naruto.

Choji continued to train with Asuma in preparation for the upcoming battle.

Shikamaru continued to do nothing, though Temari came regularly to challenge to a spar, which he refused. After the inevitable argument, she would simply lie beside him and watch the clouds as he did.

Sakura continued to watch Lee push himself and she eventually got to the point where she was allowed to walk with crutches, until her legs became strong enough to support themselves again. She was touched when Lee took time out of his training to help her build up the strength in her legs.

Soon enough the day of the finals had arrived. The stadium was filled to capacity and the genin all began to file into the stadium.

"Thank you for coming! It is my honor to present to you the genin who will be competing for the title of chunin." Sarutboi said from his sit beside the Kazekage, the leader of the sand village.

"I will be the instructor." A jonin said as he came up behind the genin.

They all turned to look at him. He wore his headband backwards over his head, he wore the traditionally jonin cloths, but he had a senbon in his mouth.

"My name is Genma, and I'll be your proctor." He said.

"What happened to Hayate?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry about it. Now everyone else besides the first two combatants should head up to the waiting area." Genma said.

Shino stopped beside Naruto on his way to the waiting area.

"Teach him a lesson Naruto." Shino said as he continued on his way.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes and they fell upon the one person that he had been waiting to fight for the longest time.

"You should give up now Uzumaki." Neji said with a tone of superiority.

"You can't win. It is your fate to fall. Surrender and save yourself the embarrassment." He said.

Naruto turned to Genma. "Can we begin." He asked.

"Didn't you hear what I said?!" Neji yelled in anger at being ignored.

Naruto turned his eyes toward Neji and even Genma flinched at the stone cold stare he gave the Hyuga.

"Why should I care about the words of a dead man?" Naruto said as he flared a killing intent large enough to make a regular civilian pass out.

"The first match: Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuga, Begin!" Genma yelled.

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**Here's chapter 12. This is the longest chapter I have ever written so I hope you like it. I am a hopeless romantic at heart, but the time for love is over! Now it's time for what you've all been waiting for, Naruto vs Neji! Will Neji survive? What techniques has Naruto learned? Why don't I just shut up and write the next chapter?! THAT IS A SECRET! Until next time, Kyuubi123 out.**

**PS. I am feeling generous today, so I am willing to give a free hint as to the identity of the mysterious person that continues to help Naruto. Just review and tell me you want this hint and I'll give it to you!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Naruto vs Neji**

**Before I begin, I want to give a huge shout out to one of the authors that has been a huge inspiration to me, Marchgirl. Marchgirl is easily one of the best of the best when writing emotion and drama. If you haven't read "The Jutsu of Love" or the sequel "Bloodlines" then I advise you to do so immediately! Be warned though, that these stories will hit close to home, you will laugh, you will cry, you will feel the characters emotions in your very soul!**

**Today is Marchgirl's birthday and I want to commemorate this chapter to her. Happy Birthday Marchgirl! You have been an inspiration to me from the very beginning, and I count you among my closest friends on this site! **

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The combatants stared at one another for only a moment before they rushed toward the inevitable battle. There was no need for words as each knew that they were now useless.

Neji activated his byakugan as he thrust a palm toward Naruto's chest. Naruto grabbed his wrist and launched a kick towards Neji's sternum. The hyuga prodigy swiftly sidestepped the kick and wrenched his wrist away from the blonde genin.

Naruto was not about to let Neji escape as he swiftly rushed toward Neji in an impressive bout of speed and attacked him. Neji was instantly on the defensive as he attempted to counteract the vicious blows that Naruto was sending his way. Normally the byakugan was able to help discern an opponent's next move, however, Naruto's style was completely random and Neji could no more predict where Naruto would strike next, then he could predict the day of his own death. He was caught by surprise by a swift kick that hit him in the chin. Neji jumped back to separate himself away from Naruto.

Naruto watched him leave with the very same intense expression he had had since the beginning of the match. He took a small amount of satisfaction in that he landed the first blow, but that was far from what he truly wanted. He wanted Neji broken at his feet. He wanted the Hyuga to experience the most pain he could.

"Why are you running away? If it's your fate to defeat me then you'll need to hit me first." Naruto said in a plain tone.

"One lucky hit doesn't mean you will win the match." Neji said as he slowly rubbed his jaw.

"Are those your last words?" Naruto said as he prepared himself.

"That was simply a warm up. Let's get serious." Neji said as he attacked Naruto once again. However this time he was the aggressor.

Naruto made extreme care to avoid the strikes being sent his way. He knew full well that he couldn't take a solid blow from Neji without severe repercussions. Naruto displayed the results of his training as he awed the crowd with his swift movements. However, Neji had not been idle during the month long break, and Naruto could tell that he had improved his speed and strength as well.

The crowd was literally on the edge of their seats as they watched the fight. Most had assumed that Neji would wipe the floor with Naruto. Neji was now known around the village as the heir of the Hyuga clan. His skills were said to be the best in years. Yet, Naruto was holding his own. The villagers were stunned that the demon brat could fight this well, while the shinobi were watching both combatants critically.

Hinata watched Naruto from beside Kurenai. She couldn't help but smile at the way the fight was progressing. While it seemed to be dead even, she had faith that Naruto would pull out the victory as he didn't know how to lose. She gave a low gasp when she saw Neji land a sharp blow to Naruto's shoulder.

'Naruto-kun, please be okay.' She thought.

Kurenai saw the concerned look of her little sister. She sighed knowing that it wouldn't be the last time the expression would appear on her face. No matter how much faster Naruto had become, he simply wasn't nimble enough to dodge every blow. However, she did smile when she saw Naruto retaliate with a punch to Neji's chest. Both of the genin jumped away from each other.

'Naruto, make him pay.' Kurenai thought as she caught sight of Hiashi Hyuga in the stands with the rest of the main branch family.

Naruto shook his arm a bit to regain feeling in it. Neji's blow had missed his tenketsu, thankfully, but the hit still hurt.

'I have to be careful.' Naruto thought. He knew that he was going about this the hard way. Fighting a Hyuga at close range was stupid at best and suicidal at worst. However, he wanted to be up close and personal with Neji. However, he was well aware that Neji was a very strong opponent and if he wanted to win he may have to sacrifice his desire to pummel Neji with his fists.

'No sense losing the fight because of my pride.' Naruto thought as he created his favored seal.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" He yelled as he created five clones.

"So, you finally figured out that you can't beat me by yourself." Neji said with a small smirk.

Naruto didn't replay as he clones attacked. All five attacked from a different direction and all five were attacking with the true dragon style.

Neji was many things, but a foolish fighter was not one of them. He saw the way the five clones were attacking him and he knew that if he had to fight five combatants using the true dragon style then he would be in a lot of trouble.

'No choice then.' Neji thought as he dodged the high punch of one clone and jumped over the low swiping kick of the second. He was able to turn the punches of the next two away, but was unable to dodge the kick the fifth clone landed into his chest. Neji coughed a bit at the force behind the blow. The other four clones attacked him from all sides as the fifth clone jumped into the air and prepared a flying drop kick.

"**Rotation!**"

"What the?" Naruto cried out when he saw Neji begin to spin and a dome of chakra circled around him. All five clones were dispersed when they collided with the dome.

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"He knows the rotation?" Kurenai asked no one in particular.

"So it seems."

Kurenai and Hinata turned to see Kakashi standing behind them, he face for once not in his Icha Icha books.

"Kakashi?!" Kurenai cried out as she made the sign to dispel a genjutsu.

"Kai" she said, only for Kakashi to remain standing behind her.

"Okay, what was that about?" Kakashi asked with a confused expression.

"You're actually on time." Kurenai said with a hint of disbelief.

"Of course I'm on time; I wouldn't miss this fight for the world." He said with a smile.

"More important than that, though, is the fact that Neji seems to know the rotation." Kakashi said in a serious tone.

The rotation was said to be the ultimate defensive move of the Hyuga clan. The user expels chakra from every tenketsu and spins so that the chakra will create a dome of protection around the user. It is said to have never been broken in a fight.

"He shouldn't know that at such a young age." Kurenai said in annoyance as she glared at Hiashi Hyuga. To her surprise, and gall, he was staring back at her with a knowing smile on his face.

"If he knows that technique then who knows what else he has been taught." Kurenai said in a bitter tone.

"Don't worry Kurenai. Naruto still has a few tricks up his sleeve." Kakashi assured.

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"Well, that's certainly impressive." Naruto commented as Neji stopped his spin.

"You aren't the only one who improved during the last month." Neji said with a smile.

Neji had trained long and hard during the one month period. Most of his training had taken place inside the Hyuga estates as his own team was less then friendly toward him. Lee refused to speak to him, Gai was very cold toward him, but Tenten's reaction bothered him the most.

'_I hate what you've become.' _

Neji didn't know why her words seemed to hurt him, when he was easily able to dismiss Gai's and Lee's behavior toward him. Regardless, he had trained with Hiashi Hyuga during the month long break and had learned quickly.

'Well if now looks like as good a time as any.' Naruto thought as he began to make hand signs.

"Take this! **Ninja art: Slicing Cyclone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as he thrust his hand out and a small cyclone launched from his hand.

Neji jumped to the side a split second before the cyclone speed past him. He looked as it hit the wall and was shocked to see that it was leaving deep slash marks in the solid cement wall.

'I can't be hit by that.' Neji thought as he returned his attention to Naruto.

"Darn it, I still don't have that one down yet." Naruto said as he slowly closed his hand in a wince.

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"What was that Kakashi?" Kurenai asked in a slightly stunned voice.

"That is one of the techniques that Naruto has learned over the break. He actually made it up and I helped him to create it. He based it off of the Great Breakthrough technique. Instead of launching a wide spread high force wind, he compresses the wind and spins it into a cyclone that has just as much destructive force. Unfortunately, he still needs to work on controlling that much force." Kakashi explained.

"Just how many techniques does he know?" Kurenai asked, impressed with the technique.

"Only two. He was more focused on mastering the ones he made as well as learning how to fight an opponent with enhanced sight in hand to hand combat." Kakashi said.

"What is the other technique he knows?" Kurenai asked.

"You'll have to wait and see." Kakashi said with a teasing smile on his face.

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Naruto watched as the slight cuts on his hand closed, thanks to Kyuubi's power.

'Well that didn't work.' He thought with annoyance.

"That is a very deadly attack. However, it seems that you need more practice." Neji said in a confident tone, though he was trying to hide the shock he felt that Naruto could perform such a strong attack. Had he been hit dead on, then he would have been badly damaged.

"At least I'll have time for more practice." Naruto said simply.

"That's the second time you've insinuated that you will win this fight. Do you actually believe that you can defeat me?" Neji said with a smirk.

"That's a stupid question. Of course I don't think I can beat you. I know I will beat you." Naruto said.

"You don't get it. Your clones won't be able to touch me, and if you continue with hand to hand combat you will eventually lose. You will get some hits in, but all I need is one good one to put you down for good." Neji said.

"Then stop talking and prove it." Naruto said.

"Fine." Neji yelled as he rushed toward Naruto again.

Naruto dodged the strike to his head and attempted to hit Neji with a punch of his own. Neji grabbed Naruto's fist and attempted to hit Naruto in his chest. Thinking quickly, Naruto jumped backwards. Neji failed to release Naruto's hand in time and was pulled slightly off balance. Naruto took this opportunity to get through Neji's stance and hit him in the chest with a punch. He was far from done as he then kicked Neji in his chest, sending the Hyuga toward the wall.

"**Hidden Shadow Snakes!**" Naruto yelled as he released the serpents from the insides of his sleeves. They wrapped around Neji's left arm and Naruto pulled Neji toward him. However, Neji didn't resist as Naruto had thought, instead Neji went with the sudden change in direction and used the added momentum to launch a strike to Naruto's chest, as Naruto wasn't able to move in time.

Naruto coughed up a bit of blood as he flew back and landed on his back.

"Procter it's over. He won't be getting up." Neji said simply as he looked at the downed genin.

"Says who?" Naruto said as he rose to his knees, his breathing obviously strained. Neji's strike had been aimed towards Naruto's heart, but he was able to shift just enough so that it hit slightly to the left and only grazed his lung.

"Don't get up you'll only be beaten back down." Neji said.

"Ha, you get one good hit in and you think you've won? Don't get ahead of yourself; this fight is far from over Neji. I won't be done until you pay for what happened to Hinata." Naruto snarled as he rose to his feet.

"What is it with you and that weakling?" Neji asked.

"Don't call her that! In case you forgot the only reason you won is because you used the seal. You're nothing but a coward and I'll make sure that you regret what you've done." Naruto said, his eyes flickering red for only a moment.

"Now who's the one getting ahead of themselves." Neji commented.

"**Shadow clone jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as he created dozens of clones.

The crowd was stunned by the number of clones created by Naruto. Many had heard the accomplishments that Naruto had achieved, but few truly believed them. To see so many clones created by a genin was astonishing to them.

"Attack!" Naruto yelled as his clones rushed Neji, however, unlike last time the clones now drew their swords.

Neji was moving faster than ever before. He was completely restrained to dodging and using very quick strikes to try and eliminate the sword wielding clones. However, there were simply too many and Neji found himself suffering from several small cuts and a few gashes.

"**Rotation!**" Neji yelled as he began to spin, destroying many of the clones that had gotten too close.

"**Ninja art: Slicing Cyclone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as he once again unleashed the powerful wind attack. The cyclone hit the dome of spinning chakra, but the rotation was too strong and the cyclone was being dispersed. However, the remaining Naruto clones all unleashed the attack as well. The combined cyclone, while not strong enough to pierce the rotation, was able to push the dome of spinning chakra into the wall, halting its spin and revealing Neji. The remaining clones all dispersed as they had used what little chakra they possessed to launch their respective cyclones.

Naruto launched himself toward the still stunned Neji with his sword drawn, determined to end the fight now. Neji was able to clear his head quickly enough to move to the side and avoid the sword. Undeterred, Naruto continued to attack Neji, making it impossible for the Hyuga to gain his bearings and counterattack.

'This isn't good!' Neji thought as he took a slash to the forearm. Naruto's kenjutsu style, which he learned from Zabuza, was all about force but when coupled with Naruto's increased speed it was deadly efficient. Neji pulled out a kunai in an attempt to ward off Naruto long enough to give himself some breathing room, but Naruto would have none of it. After only a few strikes from his blade, the kunai began to crack under the extreme pressure being exerted on it.

'I need to do something to break his concentration.' Neji thought. Naruto was currently moving with the finesse and grace that was fitting to a dancer. His strikes were swift and powerful, and Neji couldn't get close to him because of the added reach the sword gave Naruto. Naruto was making no missteps that Neji could take advantage of.

'Fine then! I'll force him to break his concentration.' Neji thought as he jumped back and as Naruto approached he put his right hand up.

"Activate!" Neji yelled.

Naruto's eyes instantly widened in utter horror at the word and the known hand sign.

"Hinata-chan!!" Naruto yelled as he turned to look into the stand for his friend. He saw her beside Kurenai, perfectly fine. Naruto was only confused for a moment before he understood his blunder.

However, this moment was all it took for Neji to have an opening. Neji rushed toward Naruto and before the gein could recover, hit him directly in the chest with a jyuuken strike. So powerful was the strike that Naruto was launched into the arena wall, however Neji was not done.

'He was bluffing! I can't believe I forgot the old man forbade them from using the seal.' Naruto thought as he slowly picked himself off of the ground. When he saw Neji make that seal, every one of his rational thoughts flew out the window. He was broken from his thoughts when Neji appeared in front of him.

"You're in range! **Eight Trigrams: 64 Strikes!**" Neji yelled as he dipped down into a stance Naruto had never seen before.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled, knowing what was coming. However, her cry was not enough to halt the inevitable.

"**Two strikes!**" Neji yelled as he struck Naruto him in the chest.

"**Four strikes!**" Neji yelled as he hit Naruto in the arms.

"**Eight strikes!**" Neji continued as he continued to hit Naruto.

"**Sixteen strikes!**" Neji said as he continued to pound Naruto into the wall he had been launched into before.

"**Thirty-two strikes!**"

"**Sixty-four strikes!**" Neji finished as he completed one of the most devastating techniques the Hyuga clan possessed.

Neji wanted to make sure that Naruto was truly finished and so before Naruto could slump to the ground Neji began to spin.

"**Rotation!**" he yelled as he expelled the spinning dome of chakra.

With nowhere to go, Naruto was drilled even deeper into the wall. Many in the crowd looked away from the vicious assault. To them, Neji seemed more the demon that Naruto.

"No! Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled as she watched her crush crumple to the ground, seemingly for good.

"Curse him!!" Kurenai yelled in anger as she looked toward Hiashi, excepting a smug look on his face. She was mildly surprised to see that he was frowning, though it disappeared very quickly behind his normal cold and stoic expression.

"It's over." Neji said with a pant to Genma.

Genma looked at Neji in disdain, though he couldn't deny that things certainly seemed to be over.

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In the dark sewers that made up Naruto's mindscape, Kyuubi was watching the fight his container was currently in. To say that Kyuubi cared about the human affairs was to say that a human cared about the affairs of an ant or fly. He simply didn't care as he didn't believe human affairs his concern.

However, Kyuubi found himself becoming increasingly angered at the white eyed human that was attacking his container. Kyuubi didn't like Naruto in the least, but he did have a small amount of respect for the boy. The fact that he was in possession of the dragon sword was enough evidence to Kyuubi that the boy was a special human. Be that as it may, he would never intervene in a fight that Naruto was a part of unless the brat's life was in jeopardy. While the strikes that the Hyuga had just landed on the brat were debilitating, and possibly deadly for another opponent, the brat would live thanks to the fox's power.

Kyuubi now found himself in the interesting position of wanting to actually help Naruto in a situation that truly didn't call for it. Whether Naruto won or not in a fight normally wouldn't matter to Kyuubi unless it was a life or death situation, but the fox demon found that he wanted nothing more than Naruto to pound the worthless speck of a human into dust. Kyuubi himself knew the reason as to why he wanted Naruto to win.

It all went back to Hinata. The fox was very angry over the way that Neji had defeated her. While he considered all humans worthless, he still felt that every fight between two beings should be fought with honor. Even demons had honor. In fact they were bound by their honor more than any other beings. In a fight between two demons, the weaker opponent has two, and only two, options. The weaker fighter can either accept their weakness and fight to their assured death, or they could submit to the greater opponent and flee, to fight another day. No matter how demons were portrayed, these were the rules of honor in a duel. When Neji had resorted to using such an underhanded move as the seal to win, Kyuubi felt anger within him. Kyuubi was momentarily confused as to the depth of his anger. He was certain that he would be at least slightly upset, but he was surprised by the shear depth of his fury. It was as if Naruto's rage had become his own.

"**You** **should be grateful to me brat. I'm going to help you out for once, but don't get used to it.**" Kyuubi said as he began to release his power throughout Naruto's system.

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Neji walked away with a satisfied expression on his face. He knew that Naruto wouldn't be rising again. Despite his calm stance, he was actually very shaken by how close the fight had gone. Had he not been able to distract the blonde ninja then he may have fallen to his sword strikes.

'It doesn't matter. As fate determined, I am the victor.' Neji thought as he walked past Genma.

"Well are you going to declare me the winner or not?" Neji asked.

Genma sighed in annoyance. "The winner is.."

Genma stopped as an enormous wave of chakra erupted from Naruto, unlike normal chakra that had a blue coloring to it, this chakra was red.

"Just where do you think you're going Hyuga?" Naruto said as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. His head was down and his hair covered his eyes.

"Now it's my turn!" Naruto yelled as he lifted his head and froze Neji with his crimson eyes. Naruto removed his black trench coat, leaving him in his long sleeve black shirt.

"It's not possible! How are you able to move?" Neji asked in disbelief.

"That doesn't matter." Naruto said with a dark smile appearing on his face.

"Oh and why is that?" Neji said as he fell into his jyuuken stance. Though he seemed to be prepared outwardly, his was very afraid of the strange red chakra he was seeing. His byakugan was showing the chakra running through Naruto like an uncontrollable wildfire of power.

"Because dead men, need no explanations!" Naruto yelled as he literally disappeared from view.

Neji was shocked only a moment before he felt a punch hit him in the face with jaw shattering strength. Neji flew back, but he never made contact with the wall as Naruto appeared behind him in a burst of insane strength. Naruto kicked him directly in the back sending Neji sprawling.

Neji picked himself up with obvious strain.

'This isn't possible. There's no way he should be able to use chakra after I closed off all of his tenketsu.' Neji thought as Naruto rushed to attack.

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The crowd was torn between fearing Naruto and cheering him. A majority of the civilians realized the power he was using and every shinobi felt the distinctive power of the Kyuubi. While many had always feared this power being unleashed by the genin, they couldn't deny that he was not going berserk like they assumed he would. They had thought he would unleash the power of the fox and spell the doom of them all, but Naruto was clearly using the power and controlling its destructive capabilities. As it was, while many were calling for the death of the "demon", just as many were reevaluating their thoughts about Naruto.

The genin in the waiting area were all shocked by what they were seeing. It wasn't the fact that Naruto was beating Neji, but his viciousness and the red chakra were the things that were new to many of them. Shino didn't look very concerned. Shikamaru had a very contemplative look on his face. Temari and Kankuro shivered at how similar the power felt to Gaara's. Gaara was smiling.

'Naruto-kun.' Hinata thought as she witnessed Naruto continuing to pommel Neji. She was not at all afraid of the power he was using. She was more afraid of what would happen to Naruto if he killed Neji. The Hyuga clan rarely forgave an offense to them.

'Make him pay Naruto!' Kurenai thought with glee. She was also slightly concerned about the repercussions of him using the fox's power, but she was currently enjoying the beating Neji was receiving.

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Naruto was barely in control of himself as he tossed Neji around like a rag doll. This was what he had been waiting a month for. He mind continually went back to the pain Neji had caused him and his friends.

He remembered Hinata screaming in pain as he landed a devastating punch to Neji's face.

He remembered Hinata writhing on the ground in agony as he kicked Neji in the chest.

He remembered Hinata's hand going limp in his own when she passed out as he kneed Neji in the gut.

He remembered the intense pain he felt when he learned Hinata was in a coma as he threw Neji into a wall, cracking it.

He remembered the sick smirk on Neji's face as he made the seals for his slicing cyclone.

Naruto's hate was slowly overcoming his senses.

'**Do it! Kill him!**' Naruto heard from deep in his subconscious. Naruto was slightly unnerved by this voice and stopped himself.

'**NOO! KILL HIM!!**' the voice cried. Naruto shook his head and tried to silence the voice. He realized that it was reacting to the Kyuubi's power and so Naruto took a deep breath and returned the chakra to the seal on his stomach.

Naruto instantly felt exhaustion overtake him as the chakra left him. His chakra had yet to fully restore itself and the blows he took from earlier were still hurting.

'Time to finish this, my way.' Naruto thought as he picked up his blade.

Neji pulled himself off of the ground, with extreme effort. Naruto's previous assault had left him all but broken, but he refused to lose to him.

'I can't lose! Fate had determined that I be the victor!' He thought as he watched Naruto make seals he had never seen before.

"**Ninja art: Piercing Shadow Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled.

Neji's eyes widened as he saw complete darkness envelope him from all sides.

"What's going on?" Neji asked.

"This is where you finally fall Hyuga!" Neji heard from somewhere around him.

He focused with his byakugan to the point that blood began to fall out of his eyes. He saw through the darkness to see that he was surrounded by chakra. The chakra was actually reflecting light away from it! This was no genjutsu as Neji initially thought; it was instead a very powerful ninjutsu.

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"Kakashi, did you teach him that?" Kurenai asked as she gazed down at the dome of darkness that had surrounded both Naruto and Neji.

"No, I didn't even know he knew such a technique." Kakashi said with a hint of awe in his own voice.

'So he used it again.' Sarutobi thought. He had initially forbidden Naruto from using that technique after he used it against Mizuki because of the extreme drawback that it possessed. While it did place the opponent in total darkness, the amount of chakra needed to use the technique was massive. Activating it used a large amount, but the majority of chakra used actually took place after the initial activation. The dome of chakra now swirling around the two genin was being provided by Naruto himself and the dome would only last as long as Natruo had chakra to give. If the user of this technique didn't have an adequate amount of chakra or poor chakra control then they could very well kill themselves, by exhausting all of their chakra.

'Still, he seems to have been working on the technique, maybe it will be alright.' Sarutobi thought as she looked over to see how the Kazekage was enjoying the show. The Kazekage seemed very intrigued by what he was seeing.

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Neji was completely blinded. He had never experienced such an all encompassing darkness and he felt as if he was in a cold void of complete darkness, where light and warmth were distant memories.

'I can't take this darkness!' Neji thought. Being gifted with the byakugan, all Hyuga prided themselves on being able to see everything.

Neji was ripped from his thoughts when he felt a sharp pain on his arm. He turned to see a large slash from his shoulder to his elbow.

"What's going on?!" Neji asked in fear.

"I told you that this fight would be your end Neji Hyuga. Prepare yourself!" Naruto cried out from the darkness.

Neji was then hit from nearly all sides by Naruto's assault. He took a slash to the back, a stab to the shoulder, and slash to the chest. All of the blows, while painful, where not life threatening. Naruto was going to uphold his word and make Neji experience the most pain possible; however Naruto felt his chakra falling dangerously low and decided to end the fight.

Neji was barely holding himself on his feet. All of the attacks were taking a hold on him and he could feel himself succumbing to the injuries. He felt an intense pain erupt from the back of his knees and fell onto his knees in agony.

'I've lost.' Neji thought as the dome disappeared and a heavily breathing Nauto appeared in front of him. Neji felt something cold and sharp on his neck and saw that it was Naruto's blade. He looked up from his kneeling position into Naruto's eyes and saw no compassion, just barely controlled fury.

"Finish it." Neji said simply.

Naruto looked at him for a moment in silent contemplation.

"You had a great opportunity, Neji." He said at last.

"Your father wanted desperately for you to be in the main branch as he saw your potential. According to Hinata he seemed to always be upset with himself for not being born first. His wish was for you to be the heir to the Hyuga clan." Naruto said in a soft tone, though his grip on his sword never wavered.

"I am glad he is dead so he can't see what a disappointment you are." Naruto said as Neji's eyes flashed in anger.

"What do you know about it?!" Neji yelled anger.

Naruto's eyes flashed and Neji was once again reminded that Naruto had his life in his hands.

Naruto grabbed Neji around the throat with one hand and lifted him up.

"I know more than you think! I know what it feels like to be treated like a lesser being! I know what it feels like to think that your only purpose must be pain and death!" Naruto yelled into Neji face. He dropped Neji to the ground and stood over him.

"You know what that felt like as well. You were a part of the branch family. You saw how they suffered. You know firsthand how corrupt the main branch is, and yet when you were given the power and ability to change things you became just like the main branch. You started looking at others like they were lesser than you. You felt that you were suddenly superior just because the seal was removed from your forehead and placed on Hinata-chan's! In my opinion you are worse than anyone else in the main branch." Naruto said with finality.

"Then go ahead. Take out your anger on me. Finish it!" Neji cried as he looked up to Naruto.

"No." Naruto said as he sheathed his sword.

"What?" Neji asked in confusion.

"I said no, I won't kill you." Naruto said as he stood over Neji as looked down to the Hyuga, who still had his byakugan activated. Naruto didn't know why but he had a strong feeling that to kill Neji now would be just what that strange voice in his head wanted, and he had a greave feeling that he didn't want to do that.

"But that doesn't mean I won't let you get away with what you did." Naruto said as he stared into Neji's eyes and started creating hand signs and closed his eyes.

"**Ninja art: Chakra flash!**" Naruto said as he opened his eyes and Neji began to scream in pain as he reached toward his face.

Naruto turned and began to walk away, ignoring the anguished cried of Neji behind him.

"What did you do Naruto?" Genma asked in confusion.

"You might want to get the medic ninja out here now." Naruto simply replied in a tired tone as he found his trench coat and put it on. Naruto was very tired from the fight. He had used up quite a bit of chakra during the fight and needed a break.

"The winner of the first match: Naruto Uzumaki!" Genma announced.

Naruto began to walk toward the waiting area. The suddenly he heard a sound that he was completely unfamiliar with. He heard cheering. He turned and looked and saw that while many in the crowd were still in their seats. A majority was on their feet cheering _him_. A small, pure smile appeared on Naruto face at the sound and his smile grew even larger when he saw that Hinata seemed to be cheering the loudest.

Naruto raised his hand in acknowledgment and continued on his way.

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"What was that Kakashi?" Kurenai asked as she applauded her student.

"That was the chakra flash. It is actually very simple. He simply gathers a very large amount chakra and builds it behind his eyes. Once he makes eye contact he releases the chakra in a blinding flash." Kakashi explained as he himself applauded Naruto.

"It seems like it will be a good distraction technique, but why is Neji screaming?" Kurenai asked, though she enjoyed his anguished cries and the medics took him away.

"Neji had his byakugan activated, and the byakugan can see chakra. The intensity of such concentrated chakra must have overloaded his byakugan." Kakashi said.

"Very clever." Kurenai said with a smile as she looked at Hinata, who was currently cheering loudly for Naruto.

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"Good fight Naruto." Shino commented.

"Thanks Shino." Naruto replied with a smile.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Shino asked.

It was a valid question. Naruto's reaction of what happened to Hinata, as well as his intense training over the month led many who knew him to think that he was going to kill Neji.

"Sometimes, death is too easy." Naruto said simply and then turned to look at Gaara, who was giving him a very disturbing smile.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked.

"Your blood." Gaara replied simply.

"You will have to wait then Gaara of the desert. You must defeat me first." Lee said from behind Gaara.

"I will definitely kill you later." Gaara said as he made his way down the steps.

"Lee be careful." Naruto warned.

"Thank you for the concern Naruto, but I will avenge Sakura-chan." Lee said as he decided to jump down to the arena floor and await Gaara.

'I have a bad feeling about Gaara.' Naruto thought as he turned to look at the fight.

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Genma looked at the two contestants. He could see that this fight would be just as personal as the last one.

"Are you two ready?" Genma asked.

"I am." Lee said in a serious tone.

"As am I." Gaara replied.

"Fine then the second match: Rock Lee vs Gaara of the Desert begin!" Genma yelled.

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**Here's chapter 21. Yes Neji is still alive, and no I don't plan to kill him later. What was that strange voice that wanted Naruto to kill Neji? No it wasn't Kyuubi as many of you may have believed. Who will emerge victorious between Lee and Gaara? What has Lee learned during the one month period? That is a secret!**

**PS: Sorry if this chapter wasn't up to par. My mother has been in the hospital for a few days for brain surgery. I also apologize if the fight was the best.**

**Till next time, Kyuubi123 out! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Gaara vs Rock Lee**

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Rock Lee went into the iron fist style. Gaara, however, didn't move.

"Are you ready Gaara?" Lee asked.

"Why are you wasting your time? You won't defeat me." Gaara said simply.

"We shall see. I will avenge Sakura-chan's defeat." Lee said.

"A true shinobi should only fight for himself. To fight for another makes you weak." Gaara replied.

"We shall see!" Lee said as he rushed Gaara in attack.

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"Go Lee-kun!" Sakura cheered happily from her position in the crowd. Ino, who was sitting next to Sakura, was looking at her strangely.

"Hey Sakura, what's up between you and Lee?" Ino asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, though she kept her eyes on the arena floor.

"I mean you having been hanging around him for a while now. What's the deal?" Ino asked a bit suspiciously.

"That's none of your business Ino-pig!" Sakura said in annoyance.

"It is if this is some plan you have to win Sasuke-kun's heart!" Ino yelled.

"What?" Sakura asked as her anger gave way to confusion.

"You heard me! If you are trying to make me drop my guard by pretending to like Lee just so you can take Sasuke-kun then you have another thing coming!" Ino yelled with a superior look. She was sure that her line of thought was correct.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand Ino." Sakura said lowly as she turned her gaze back to the fight.

Ino was surprised. She had expected Sakura to continue to argue with her, or to continue to deny what Ino had suggested. She didn't expect her to control her anger and ignore the conversation. She looked between Sakura and Lee.

'Could there really be something more between them?' Ino thought.

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Rock Lee was always considered to be a failure as a ninja because of his inability to use genjutsu and ninjutsu. However, he refused to let others' opinions get him down. He would prove to the world that one could become a great ninja through the use of taijutsu alone. Lee pushed himself farther than many other ninja even could even imagine. His work ethic was above and beyond other ninja twice his age. However, he knew that this fight between Gaara would be one of the most difficult fights he had ever had.

He rushed up to Gaara and launched a punch to his face. Gaara's sand intercepted his blow. Undeterred, Lee jumped up and attempted a drop kick, only for the sand to once again block the attack. Lee jumped away and threw a few shuriken from his pouch. The sand rose up and halted the projectiles.

"Is that the best you've got?" Gaara asked.

Lee looked on in contemplation. He knew that the sand would protect Gaara, he simply wanted to get a feel of how quickly it would react and if it was dependant on Gaara's mental control.

It seemed to Lee that the sand was acting independently of Gaara as the sand ninja had not blinked an eye and yet the sand protected him. He was also intrigued by the reaction time of the sand and was wondering about a way to get through it.

"Lee!"

Lee looked up into the stands and saw his sensei Might Gai Standing beside Sakura.

"Take them off!" Gai said with his unusually bright smile.

"Hai Gai-sensei!" Lee said after flashing Sakura a bright smile of his own, happy to note that a small blush appeared on her face.

Lee bent down and seemed to touch something on his legs. He surprised many of the onlookers, who expected him to remove his orange leg warmers and reveal his weights, when he suddenly stood up and jumped into the air. He did two in air kicks and suddenly four black rods flew from under his leg warmers and toward Gaara.

The sand jumped up to stop the projectiles, but something strange happened. While the sand was able to stop the rods they still sunk deeply into the sand wall and one was precariously close to hitting Gaara in the face.

'It is as I thought. While his sand came block some attacks easily, the stronger the blow the stronger the sand must become to halt the attack.' Lee thought with a smile as he thought of a way to defeat Gaara besides using his insane speed.

Gaara looked dispassionately at the four rods that were caught in his sand shield. They were each about a foot long and Gaara had to admit that he was surprised that they had penetrated his sand shield. Most attacks lacked the force to pierce his wall of sand. A small smile appeared on Gaara's face as he felt that he had finally found an opponent worth killing. He made a simply swipe of his hand and his sand launched the four rods back toward Lee.

Lee dodged the rods as they smashed into the wall, cracking it. Each rod was equivalent to five hundred pounds of weight. They had pierced Gaara's shield because of the momentum they had from their weight and the velocity that Lee had kicked them toward Gaara.

'So Gaara's sand can be defeated.' Lee thought as he did a few stretches and prepared himself to fight.

"Here I come!" Lee yelled as he disappeared from sight.

Gaara had already known about Lee's insane speed, but actually having it used against him was a far different experience than watching it used against someone else.

Lee appeared behind Gaara and launched a punch toward his back; however, the sand intercepted the blow. Lee disappeared once again and reappeared as he was launching a kick toward Gaara's face. The sand once again jumped up to block it, but unlike before, the sand gave a bit under the pressure of the blow and Lee's leg almost broke through it.

'Now I understand how much force to put into each of my blows.' Lee thought with a smile. The sand was barely able to keep up with his speed and the small amount that appeared to block his blows was only able to take so much force before it failed to block the attack.

Lee appeared behind Gaara again and attempted to punch him in the face. The sand was not strong enough to block the blow and Lee's fist connected. Gaara was sent sprawling on the arena floor.

The crowd began to cheer for Lee as Gaara stood up on his feet.

"It seems that I have found a way through your defense Gaara." Lee said with a smile.

The smile left his face when Gaara turned to him. His face had cracks along his cheek, and his very face seemed to be breaking apart. The bits that feel turned to sand.

"I see you have a secondary defense if the first is ever defeated. No matter, I will break through that as well!" Lee said as he attacked again.

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"Wow!" Ino said, impressed with Lee's strength and speed.

"Lee-kun is so amazing!" Sakura said with a smile.

Ino looked at her first friend and was surprised by the look on her face. It was the same look of admiration and affection she used to have for Sasuke. Though, the look she was giving Lee was much stronger than any she had ever given Sasuke.

"You really like Lee don't you?" Ino asked.

"I do." Sakura said, her eyes never leaving the battle field.

"But why? No offense, but he looks kind of weird, and he dresses strangely too." Ino said. She became upset when Sakura only laughed in response.

"Maybe, but there is so much more to people than their looks. Sasuke is very handsome, but that isn't enough." Sakura said.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked.

"If I had to describe what I wanted the most in a boyfriend, Sasuke wouldn't fit the bill. Lee is kind, trustworthy, funny, strong, and caring. He has been training this whole month just to avenge my honor, not for power or fame." Sakura said with a warm smile directed at Lee.

Ino didn't reply as she was too busy thinking about what Sakura had said.

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Lee looked at Gaara in confidence. Gaara's sand armor was broken and cracked in almost every location. Lee's speed was more than enough to get through Gaara's sand shield and without it Gaara was actually a very easy target to attack. Gaara had never encountered someone who could bypass his sand shield so easily and thus he had never trained in hand to hand combat. Every sand attack he sent at Lee was simply to slow to catch the green wearing genin. However, Lee had yet to actually land a solid hit on Gaara himself.

'I must find a way through that sand shield. The more I hit it the more it cracks, but that is not enough. I must hit him with even more force.' Lee thought as he began to undo his arm wrappings.

Gaara looked at the genin in front of him. While he was happy to be fighting such a strong opponent, he was slightly thrown off by his strength and speed. Lee was getting past his sand shield at will and his sand armor was suffering from multiple breaks. He needed a way to ground Lee and crush him.

'What is he doing now?' Gaara thought as he saw Lee loosen the wrappings on his arms.

"Prepare yourself!" Lee shouted as he disappeared from sight once again.

'Now what?' Gaara thought as he put his arms up and began to look around.

He got his answer when he felt a kick hit him in the chin, launching him into the air. Lee saw that Gaara was not floating like a normal opponent and so he continued to land kick after kick into Gaara's chest pushing him higher and higher into the air.

'Now!' Lee thought as he threw his arms forward. His arm wrappings wrapped around Gaara and Lee grabbed the now bound genin. He turned them both upside down and began to spin.

"Take this **Primary Lotus**!" Lee yelled as they spun faster and faster in the air as they dive-bombed toward the ground.

Lee jumped away at the very last moment, but Gaara slammed into the ground in an earth shattering crash. Lee fell to one knee in sudden exhaustion. The primary louts was still a very tiring technique, even after training for a month.

"Let's see you get up from that Gaara." Lee said as the entire crowd jumped to their feet with a cheer.

"Very well."

Lee turned around, only to be thrown back by a blast of sand. Gaara was standing behind him, completely untouched.

"How?" Lee asked as he looked at the hole he had created. Gaara's broken body was lying in the crater, until it became to crack and the entire body collapsed into itself.

'A sand clone!' Lee thought as Gaara suddenly went on the offensive. Lee was still trying to regain his composure after using the primary louts.

Lee continued to dodge, but he was taking more and more hits from Gaara's sand. The sand wrapped around his legs and threw him into a wall. Lee coughed up blood and looked up to see a tide wave of sand crashing down on him.

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Ino winced at the scene and braved a quick look to see how Sakura was dealing with the turn of events. Ino was stunned to see that Sakura was actually smiling!

"What are you so happy about Sakura?! Lee's getting pounded!" Ino said.

"You haven't seen anything yet Ino." Sakura said with the same confident smile on her face.

"What are you talking about?" Ino asked.

"You'll see." Sakura said as she turned and gave Gai a look. Gai simply nodded his head in obvious agreement, and Ino was wonder what they were silently conveying between one another.

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Gaara looked at the destruction his last attack had left and turned to walk away.

"Where do you think you are going Gaara of the desert?"

Gaara turned to see that Lee was rising to his feet. He was panting and had several bruises on his body.

"Why do you continue to rise? You can't win." Gaara said.

"I refuse to give up." Lee said simply.

"You are just like that weak pink haired girl. Both of you have no sense of when you have lost. You remember what happened to her, your fate will be even worse." Gaara said.

Lee's expression darkened at the reminder of what Gaara had done to Sakura. Lee took his headband off of his waist and tied it around his forehead.

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Gai looked at his favored student in confusion. He couldn't figure out why he had changed the location of his headband. He turned his head when Sakura and Ino gasped.

"What is it?" Gai asked.

"His headband. Sakura and I promised one another we would only wear our headbands around our foreheads when we were strong ninja." Ino said.

Gai smiled as he understood Lee's action. By tying the headband around his forehead, he was honoring Sakura and her declaration.

"Go Lee! Let yours and Sakura's flames of youth explode!" Gai yelled, much to the embarrassment of Sakura and Ino.

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"It is time Gaara of the desert!" Lee said as his chakra began to flair.

"Yes, it's time for you to die! **Sand coffin!**" Gaara said as he raised his hand and launched a massive amount of sand at Lee.

Lee dodged the first few blasts of sand, only to be caught and become covered from head to toe in sand. He was lifted into the air and Gaara began to close his hand.

"**Sand burial!**" Gaara yelled as he closed his hand and the sand around Lee began to compress.

"**Third Gate: Gate of Life open!**" Lee yelled.

The sand exploded and Lee fell to the ground, very much alive. However, he was not the same. His hair was standing up, his skin was red, his eyes were completely without retinas, and he had a golden aura around him.

'What is this?' Gaara thought in fascination and fear.

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"What's up with Lee?" Ino asked.

"That is Lee's special power. He can open the eight celestial gates and use the lotus." Gai said with a smile.

"Eight gates?" Ino asked.

"That's right. The human body has natural dampeners in place to limit how much chakra a human body can use. The lotus puts extreme strain on these gates and opens them. The user gets stronger with each gate opened." Gai said.

"Just how strong can a person get?" Ino asked.

"If someone were to open all eight gates, they would gain a power greater than that of any Kage, but consequently you would die." Gai explained.

"WHAT! You taught him to do that?! Why would you teach him something so dangerous?" Ino yelled.

"Shut up Ino!" Sakura yelled in anger.

"Sakura?" Ino asked in confusion.

"I told you before not to talk about things you don't understand." Sakura said as she once again turned her gaze to Lee.

"What gate is he on?" Ino asked a bit timidly.

"The third gate. The first was opened when he used the primary lotus. The second was used when he once again regained his speed and stamina." Gai explained.

"How many can he use?" Ino asked

"Currently he can use five gates." Gai explained.

All three looked on as Lee opened the fourth and fifth gate, the gates of harm and pain, respectively.

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Gaara was stunned at the amount of power Lee was exhibiting. He knew the strange looking genin was powerful, but he had no idea he was this powerful.

'I will kill him! His blood will make mother very pleased!'Gaara thought with a disturbing smile.

Gaara was ripped from his thoughts when Lee vanished from view. Gaara instantly felt a massive punch hit him in the jaw. He was launched toward the wall, but never made it there. Lee was instantly there and kicked Gaara in the back. Gaara was tossed around like a ragdoll for the better part of a minute. No one, not even the ninja in the crowd were able to track lee's speed. Every blow he landed sent a small shockwave through the stadium and Gaara's sand armor was being torn from his skin.

'I can't take much more of this!' Gaara thought as Lee continued to pummel him.

Fortunately for Gaara, neither could Lee. His muscles were close to tearing under the intense stress of the gates, though he could hold the power much longer than before thanks to the month long training secession with Gai-sensei. Lee knew the he would need something more to put an end to this fight. He punched Gaara in the chest upwards toward the sky.

Lee then ran to the four rods that were stuck in the stadium walls. He grabbed each one and locked them together to create a four foot long staff. He reappeared in the spot that Gaara was going to fall to, his entire trek to get his staff had taken only two seconds, and as Gaara fell towards him Lee lashed out with his staff and hit Gaara in the chest. Gaara was launched into the wall, but he had no rest as Lee was on him instantly, pounding away with a staff that weighed two thousand pounds. His armor was blown off after a few blows and Gaara for the first time found himself being beaten by an opponent, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Lee could feel himself running out of time as his muscles were very close to tearing. He decided to finish the battle. He hit Gaara with all of his strength into the air. He tossed his staff to the ground and jumped up higher than Gaara. He kicked Gaara in the chest and sent him toward the ground. However, Gaara's descent was halted as Lee had tied a single wrapping around Gaara's waist. He pulled the sand ninja upwards while he launched his right arm and leg downwards.

"Take this **Hidden Lotus**!" Lee yelled as his arm and leg hit Gaara with an unimaginable amount of force. Lee yelled as his arm and leg were wracked in pain.

Gaara was launched toward the ground, unconscious. Lee's earlier blows with his staff had destroyed his sand armor, so the hidden lotus attack had caught Gaara completely unprotected. The sand of Gaara's gourd turned to sand to cushion his fall, but he was already out cold.

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Inside Gaara's mind, a single eye opened. The eye was diamond shaped, golden in color and had four black dots. This was the eye of Shukaku, the one tailed demon raccoon.

"**You pathetic brat! You will not fall to this ninja, now get up and give me his blood!!**" The crazed demon yelled.

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Lee fell to the ground deeply exhausted. He was still using some of the lotus power, but it was swiftly leaving him.

'It's over now.' Lee thought as he looked at the unconscious form of Gaara.

Suddenly a wave of yellow chakra flowed from Gaara's body. The entire stadium watched in disbelief as Gaara stood to his feet. He was surrounded by the yellow chakra.

"You will die!!" He yelled as he launched sand toward Lee. This time, however, the sand moved at a jaw dropping speed and slammed into Lee.

Lee jumped up and avoided the sand that had smashed into the place he had just vacated. He found himself once again dodging wave after wave of sand. He could feel the chakra of the eight gates leaving him so he had to act swiftly. He rushed toward Gaara, ignoring the blasts of sand that flew past him by mere millimeters. Gaara saw the frontal assault and launched a wave of sand at the very instant Lee punched him in the face. Both combatants were thrown back to into opposing walls of the stadium.

'I have to do something.' Lee thought as he pulled himself onto his knees. He was running out of time. Another few seconds were all he had before he completely ran out of energy.

'How can he be this powerful?' Gaara thought as he rose to his feet.

Lee saw his staff a few feet away.

'This will end it!' Lee thought as he staggered and grabbed the staff.

Gaara rose to his feet and watched Lee grab his staff. Despite the power, Gaara could still feel all of the pain and punishment he had taken at the hands of Lee. He was happy to face such a strong opponent but he knew it was time to kill him, or he could lose. His body was very tired and Shukaku's power was leaving him quickly.

Gaara made a spear of sand and threw it at Lee.

Lee picked up his staff and hurled it toward Gaara with all of the power remaining in his body.

Gaara saw the staff and raised a wall of highly compressed sand. However, the staff, while momentarily halted, continued through and hit Gaara in the stomach, launching him back into the wall.

Lee saw the spear of sand coming toward him, but he was completely without power. He was able to shift himself just enough so that the spear pierced threw his shoulder. Lee screamed in agony as he fell to the ground.

Neither Lee, nor Gaara were moving

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"Lee-kun!" Sakura yelled in fear as she tried to stand. Her legs were still not completely healed and she would have fallen if Gai had not grabbed her and supported her.

"Let me go! I have to help him! He did all this for me!" Sakura cried as tears fell down her face.

"You can't go now Sakura! He would be disqualified and all of this would be for nothing." Gai said calmly, though Sakura could feel him trembling with a desire to help his student.

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An anbu wearing a grey clock moved discretely through the crowd. He was watching the fight and began to make hand signs. However, he saw the Kazekage give an almost imperceptible shake of the head.

'What's he thinking?' The anbu thought. Nonetheless the anbu stopped making hand signs and disappeared from view.

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Lee struggled to move. His entire body felt like it was broken. He was lying on his stomach and his gaze was blurry. His right arm and leg were broken from the hidden lotus and his left shoulder had been pierced completely through by the sand spear. Through it all Lee kept focus on the arena wall. Gaara was also lying down on the ground, unmoving.

'I did it.' Lee thought as his blurry vision revealed that Genma was coming to check on him.

'I have to move!' Lee thought as he tried to get up. His entire body protested, but he was not about to fall now!

Through shear for of will Lee was somehow able to find the strength within to rise to his feet. The cheering of the crowd was deafening. Lee looked around and gave a weak smile.

"I did it Sakura-chan, Gai-sensei." Lee said quietly.

"Winner of the second match Rock…" Genma announced.

"NO!!"

Lee and Genma looked over and saw that Gaara had indeed risen to his feet as well.

'That is not possible!' Lee thought in disbelief.

"YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME!!" Gaara yelled as he launched sand at Lee.

Lee could do nothing but stand there as the sand launched him back into the wall. The sand then overcame him and he found himself once again covered in sand.

"**Sand burial!**" Gaara yelled as he began to close his hand.

The sand imploded, much to the shock and anguished cries of the crowd. However, Lee's mangled body didn't fall out. The sand was empty.

"Where did he go?!" Gaara yelled as he saw Gai in the middle of the ring. Gai held Lee's unconscious body in his arms.

"The match is over." Gai said.

"It's over when he dies!" Gaara yelled as he attempted to move, however Gaara's body protested and he fell to his knees.

"Why? Why do you protect him?' Gaara asked from his kneeling position.

"Because he is my student and he is precious to me." Gai said as he turned and walked away with Lee towards the medic ninja.

'He is precious to him?' Gaara thought in confusion as he struggled to his feet and tried to follow him.

"Enough! The winner of the second match is Gaara of the Desert." Genma announced, much to the displeasure of the crowd. Lee's never die attitude had grown on them and they believed that he should have won the contest.

Gaara shook his head in annoyance as another victim had escaped his grasp.

'The next opponent I fight will die!' Gaara thought as he looked up into the face of Naruto.

'No time for that now. I have to regain my strength first.' Gaara thought as he walked very slowly up the stairs, holding his stomach all the while. The only reason he was not knocked out or dead was because the yellow chakra of Shukaku had concentrated itself around the impact point when the staff hit him, thereby, the total force behind it failed to fully hit him.

He looked toward Baki, his sand jonin, but Baki shook his head slowly letting Gaara know that there was a change of plans.

Naruto had felt and recognized the power Gaara was using. He knew Gaara's secret just as Gaara knew his. They stared at each other, both knowing that they would eventually fight, and most likely, only one would walk away alive.

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"Lee-kun." Sakura said with tears in her eyes. She had seen Lee give his all. He had fought to prove his nindo, as well as to defend her honor. He left everything he had on that arena floor.

'But it still wasn't enough.' Sakura thought in sadness.

She got up with her crutches and began to leave.

"Where are you going Sakura?" Ino asked.

"To see Lee-kun." Sakura said softly.

"Do you want some company?" Ino asked softly. She could tell how much her friend was hurting.

"No, thanks Ino." Sakura said as she left.

'She looked so hurt. Is that what it means to truly care about someone?' Ino thought. Truth be told she didn't think she would feel that way if Sasuke was beaten. She would feel bad that her crush was hurt, but she doubted she would be as devastated as Sakura looked.

'Is there anyone whose defeat would hurt me so much?' Ino thought as he gaze fell on Choji.

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"Y-you okay Gaara?" Kankuro asked fearfully.

"Shut up." Gaara said with a pant as he continued to hold his stomach. A medic had tried to help him, but quickly left when Gaara's sand flared up.

Gaara looked at Naruto, and the blonde ninja looked back. The tension between them was palpable.

"You're next Uzumaki. And unlike those other two, _you_ will not escape my wrath!" Gaara said as he went and sat down.

"Looking forward to it Gaara." Naruto replied with an ice cold stare.

"Kankuro and Choji Akamichi come down here." Genma yelled.

"I quit!" Kankuro yelled back.

"What!" Naruto, Genma, and Choji yelled, though Choji was the loudest.

"Yeah sorry, but I concede." Kankuro said with a sheepish smile.

"Are you afraid you coward?!" Choji yelled in fury. He had not trained for a month just to have him duck out now.

"Hey you should be happy that I'm not fighting. Now you get to go on to the next round fat boy!" Kankuro teased.

Choji had to be restrained by Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino.

"You'll pay for what you did puppet boy!" Choji yelled after he calmed down.

"Temari and Shikamaru come down!" Genma yelled.

Temari wasted no time and jumped down to the arena floor.

"Shikamaru get down here now or else!" Temari yelled when she saw he wasn't yet moving.

'How do they know each other?' Naruto thought. He was quickly ripped from his thoughts when he saw Shikamaru actually moving toward the arena floor.

'What's going on?!' Naruto, Choji, Ino and Asuma thought. Everyone who knew Shikamaru's attitude about anything even remotely related to work were stunned that he seemed to be obeying a woman who was ordering him to come down to fight.

'Troublesome.' Shikamarut thought as he saw the stunned looks on Choji and Naruto's faces.

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Shikamaru walked down the stairs and finally made it to the arena floor. He looked over to Temari and saw a very troublesome look on her face.

"It's finally time to fight lazy and this time you can't get out of it." Temari said with a smile of anticipation.

"Well what if I forfeit as well?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari's smile left her face and she got upset. It wasn't that he was threatening to forfeit that angered her, but the fact that she had no comeback for him. She was always used to having the last word and prided herself on always having a comeback for any statement. However, Shikamaru always seemed to know just how to get the last word. This intrigued Temari and it is what made her hang around him for the past month. She knew he was lazy, but his comments made her think that he was much smarter than he let on. She continually tried to catch him in a statement or to get the last word, but every response by him, while lazy and bored in tone, was perfectly suited to stop her in her tracks.

"You're very interesting Shikamaru, but I'm going to find out what makes you tick and then I'm going to beat you!" Temaru declared, her smile reappearing.

"We'll see troublesome woman." Shikamaru said with a slight smirk of his own.

"The third match: Temari vs Shikamaru Nara, Begin!" Genma yelled.

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**Here's chapter 22! I hope the Lee/Gaara fight was up to par. I'm also very sure that you all are wondering about the surprise attack. When is it going to happen? Why was it delayed? What is going to happen between Shikamaru and Temari? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Shikamaru vs Temari/ Shino vs Tenten**

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"You ready for this lazy?" Temari asked as she opened her fan.

"Whatever." Shikamaru answered with a yawn.

The crowd was less then appreciative of Shikamaru's attitude. After witnessing two amazing fights, they were eager for more. To have Kankuro forfeit and then have a fight involving a seemingly lazy ninja, they were understandably upset. They began to boo and called for a real fight.

"This is so troublesome." Shikamaru commented as he looked around to see the crowd booing him.

"Well, let's give them a show! **Ninja art: cutting whirlwind!**" Temari yelled as she swung her fan and a large wind attack blew toward Shikamaru.

After the wind attack dissipated Shikamaru was nowhere to be found.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Temari said in a sing song tone, her smile never wavering.

Shikamaru looked at Temari from his hiding spot in one of the trees in the stadium. He had to admit that this fight was actually the first he had ever been looking forward too. It wasn't that he wanted to win or that he wanted to become a chunin. Truth be told, neither of those things intrigued him at all. He was looking forward to this fight because he wanted to fight Temari. Normally he found any woman to be far too troublesome to deal with, and Teamri was certainly troublesome. However, there was something about her that intrigued Shikamaru. She was very intelligent, and actually posed something of a challenge to his intelligence.

Throughout the month, she had continually interrupted his cloud gazing to engage him in a verbal contest of wills. Every day she would come up with something new to try and win their verbal contests, and if he were truthful with himself he would admit that each day became harder than the last to trump her. She posed an interesting puzzle for Shikamaru and if there was one thing that Shikamaru liked it was puzzles.

'Still, fighting her out right is troublesome as well as stupid.' Shikamaru thought.

Temari was standing in the middle of the ring, wondering where Shikamaru was hiding and what he was planning. Had she not been around him for a month, she would assume he was simply trying to hide, but she knew Shikamaru was very intelligent and had something in store.

'Now if I were Shikamaru, where would I hide?' She thought.

Her answer came in the form of a rapidly moving shadow that emerged from the trees and was closing in on her. Temari jumped back, and for a moment thought she was safe. This is until it connected with the shadow created by one of the numerous upturned rocks that the Lee/Gaara fight had produced. The shadow extended and Temari had to leap back once again to avoid being caught. The shadow strained and finally retreated.

'That was too close.' Temari thought with a breath of relief. She could send an attack into the trees, but she had another idea. Instead of luring Shikamaru out, she would let him stay there. She looked around and took note of every upturned rock and stone that left a shadow that could be used by Shikamaru. After copying their location to memory she decided on a plan.

Shikamaru gazed at Temari with a critical look. He hadn't expected his attack to work. He had simply wanted to see how she would react. That she didn't let her guard down even now and seemed to be thinking instead of just reacting let Shikamaru know that she was very intelligent.

'This is like a shogi game against a worthy opponent.' Shikamaru thought. He had never lost a game of shogi, and he didn't plan to lose now.

Temari then did something he was not expecting. She put her fan away and calmly began to walk toward the trees.

'What's she thinking?' Shikamaru thought. She obviously knew about his shadow technique and she also knew that he could use other shadows to lengthen his own.

Temari continued to walk toward the trees in a confident stride. She knew what she was doing was dangerous, but she had an idea and wanted to see if it would work.

Sure enough, Shikamaru's shadow once again extended toward her. She ran back and began to weave between the upturned rocks and stones. The shadow used them all to come closer and closer to her. Temari gave a small smirk as she saw the shadow stop, however she could tell something wasn't right. Her suspicions were proven correct when she saw a second shadow extending toward her from the opposite direction.

'He split his shadow?!' Temari thought as she leapt clear in desperation. She had walked to his hiding spot for the simple reason that she wanted him to try and catch her. She had moved between the stones so that she could get an idea of just how far his shadow could reach. Then she could breakdown the length it gained from each shadow and pinpoint his exact location. A wide spread attack would have flushed him out but she didn't want to risk him finding somewhere else to hid, especially if he decided to hid behind one of the larger stones.

Shikamaru looked at Temari and felt his respect for her go up. She had put herself in harm's way to see the extent of his shadow attack. It was a classic gambit's move in shogi and her willingness to gamble was interesting.

'Still, she knows I'm in the trees, and is only trying to figure out where. I could move, but I don't want to risk the chance that she'll see me. Maybe I should try and head for the rocks.' Shikamaru thought.

That plan was literally blown away when Temari used her wind attack to blast the rocks and stones away from her.

'That's not good.' Shikamaru thought. With those gone she could stand there and not worry about him blind sighting her. She now had a safe haven to retreat to whenever she wanted. Shikamaru sighed as he put his hands in a strange symbol and seemed to be concentrating.

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"Well this fight is actually a lot more interesting than I initially thought." Shino said.

"Yeah, Shikamaru is actually having a hard time with her." Naruto agreed.

"Don't be so sure." Choji said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Shikamaru has something special planned for her, I just know it." Choji said as Naruto and Shino continued to watch the fight.

'Still, Shikamaru seems to be more enthusiastic about this fight than any other one. I wonder why." Choji thought.

Kankuro was thinking along similar lines. He had forfeited because he didn't want the modifications of his doll, Crow, seen until the surprise attack on Konoha. He was surprised that it had been pushed back a bit, but he was even more surprised when Temari had been so eager to fight. His older sister was always a hot head and never shied away from a fight. However, he could see that something was going on with her and the shadow kid. She seemed very eager to fight him.

'What's up with you Temari? What's going on between you and that lazy genin?' Kankuro thought as he continued to watch the match.

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Shikamaru had ended his meditation and had a plan that he was sure would provide him a victory. However, he didn't exactly like the way the plan had to be completed. He sighed in annoyance and calmly walked out of the security of the trees.

Temari looked on in surprise that Shikamaru had left his hiding spot. Not only that but he was walking toward her in a very casual pace.

'What's he up to?' Temari thought as she did a very quick look around to make sure his shadow was nowhere close to her.

"You really are troublesome." Shikamaru said with a sigh of annoyance.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Temari said with a hint of anger.

Shikamaru didn't replay; he simply took a deep breath and ran full speed toward Temari.

Temari, Choji, Naruto and just about everyone who knew Shikamaru were stunned stupid for a moment at the sight of him running.

Temari shook herself out of it when she had to dodge 5 kunai thrown by the shadow user. She had to stay on her toes as Shikamaru made his signature hand signs and his shadow raced toward her. She jumped away as the shadow continued to chase after her. It stopped suddenly and Temari let out a breath of relief. However when she looked to Shikamaru to gloat a bit she noticed that his jacket was missing. She looked up and saw that he had made a small kite from his jacket to caste an additional shadow for his shadow to use. The shadow extended and Temari was once again on the run. She hated to retreat but she knew that to be caught would be the end of the match. When the shadow reached its limit again, she looked at Shikamaru and gave him a smile.

"Looks like your little plan didn't work lazy." She said as she did a few calculations in her head. She was a very good tactician as well and by the time she was finished she had determined the limit of his shadow as long as he remained in that position.

"Check." Shikamaru said simply with a smile of his own.

Temari looked at him strangely until she heard a sizzling sound. She finally noticed that the five kunai he threw earlier were surrounding her. They had explosive tags on them.

'Crap!' she thought as they exploded. They weren't close enough to harm her, but they did cause a massive dust cloud that obscured her vision.

She frantically looked toward the ground and sure enough his shadow once again came for her. Once again she was dodging the quick shadow. She tripped over a stone she couldn't see and the shadow raced toward her.

'How is he tracking me?!' She thought in desperation as the shadow continued toward her. Much to her joy and relief, the shadow reached its limit an inch in front of her. She jumped up quickly as the shadow retreated.

'Okay I have to figure out how to beat him.' Temari thought. While she knew she could continue to dodge him until he ran out of chakra, she wasn't sure she could continue to dodge the quick shadow and the obviously intelligent mind of Shikamaru.

'First priority is to get rid of this dust!' Temari thought as she prepared to blow away the dust.

"Checkmate."

Temari was horrified to find that she couldn't move. She was frozen and couldn't move a single part of her body.

The dust settled and Shikamaru walked up behind her casually.

"**Shadow possession jutsu**, success." He said with a smirk as he observed the frozen ninja.

"H-how did you follow me in the dust cloud?" Temari asked

"I didn't. I'll let you look around." He said as he turned his head from one side to another. Temari could see that Shikamaru hadn't moved from his beginning position. He had effectively led her right to his position!

"I made the dust cloud to distract you, obviously. Afterwards I sent my shadow into the cloud and lead you back to this position. After that all I had to do was cancel the jutsu and immediately restart it. You were so concerned with my attack that you didn't pay attention to where you were being led to." Shikamaru explained.

"But how could you tell where I would go?" Temari asked in disbelief.

"Simple, I just memorized the way you moved before. That's why I used my jacket as a parachute to make you react, as well as put you into position for the dust cloud. I didn't need to see you to know how you would move." He said with a yawn. He lifted his hand in the air.

The entire crowd was stunned. Though this fight was not nearly as flashy or action packed as the earlier ones, the crowd had to admit that it was just as interesting to see. The two genin were truly great tacticians. The crowd was on the edge of their seats to see what Shikamaru would do now.

'I can't believe this! I only got off one attack and then he was able to catch me!' Temari thought in disbelief. She knew that she was one of the best strategists in the sand village, even at her young age. She now knew with absolute certainty that Shikamaru was above and beyond her.

She watched as he raised his hand and hers by default in the air.

'Is he going to make me give up?' Temari thought in confusion. She studied him for a moment and made a decision. She may not be able to move, but she was able to control her own destiny.

"Procter I.." Shikamaru began.

"I give up!" Temari said loudly.

"What?!" Genma, Shikamaru and a majority of the crowd shouted.

"You heard me, I give up." Temari said with a wide smile.

"B-but.." Shikamaru stuttered.

"Ooookay, the winner of the match is Shikamaru Nara." Genma announced to the stunned crowd. It was obvious that Shikamaru was going to surrender and while everyone was wondering why, they hadn't expected Temari to surrender first.

"You can let me go now lazy." Temari said, her smile never leaving her face. She had finally gotten the last word in.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru said as he had nothing else to say. He released her and the crowd began to cheer for him.

"I win this time lazy." Temari said in a whisper as she walked past him toward the other genin.

Temari knew that Shikamaru was going to forfeit the moment he held his hand up. If there was one thing she had learned about him in one month's time, it was that he always gave up when he considered something to be too troublesome. She knew that he would consider going on to the second round far too much work and would give up. Thus, she beat him to it and forced him to continue to compete.

If one were to observe the contestants, but had missed the match, they would have assumed that the outcome was reversed. Temari had a large smile on her face and she walked upright in apparent victory. Shikamaru, however, was walking in a slumped posture and had a defeated look on his face.

Needless to say, the crowd thought the fight was very interesting.

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'She is the most troublesome woman I have ever met, besides my mom.' Shikamaru thought with a sigh as he walked up the stairs towards the waiting area. He had already proven that he was better than her and was all prepared to give up with that knowledge. However, she had to quit first and put him in this troublesome situation.

Shikamaru saw that she was waiting at the top of the stairs, seemingly for him.

"What now?" Shikamaru asked in an annoyed tone.

"Shikamaru." Temari said in a serious tone.

Shikamaru was instantly alert and shaken out of his somber mood. That she had used his actual name and the fact that her face showed no sign of joking was enough to gain his undivided attention.

"Yeah Temari?" He asked a bit curiously.

"Stay safe." She said simply as she turned to walk away.

Shikamaru's highly developed mind alerted him that there was something strange about her tone. While she could have meant to stay safe during the rest of the tournament, he had a suspicion that that wasn't the case at all. She was warning him about something else.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he tried to decipher the true meaning of her words.

"Just what I said lazy, stay safe." She said as her smile returned and she walked away to meet up with the other ninja.

Shikamaru watched as she left, his mind still abuzz with ideas of her true meaning. Shikamaru could think hundreds of moves ahead of an opponent if he cared to try. His IQ was around 200. He knew there was something bigger under Temari's words and he knew that it would bug him until he could figure it out.

'Troublesome.' Shikamaru thought with a sigh as he followed the sand ninja.

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Shino began his trek down toward the arena after Genma called him and Tenten down.

"Shino, win this match okay." Naruto said to his friend.

"Don't worry. I plan to fight you in the finals Naruto." Shino said with a small smile.

Naruto nodded his head as Shikamaru and Temari appeared. He noticed that Shikamaru looked to be in deep concentration.

'Wonder what's up with him.' Naruto thought as he turned his gaze down to the arena floor.

Shikamaru kept thinking about what Temari told him. It was as if she was warning him about something to come.

'But what?' He thought as he made his special sign with his hands and closed his eyes. His thoughts went over everything that had transpired so far. He noticed a few things that made him suspicious of the sand team. Kankuro's forfeit and Garra's small inquisitive look toward their sensei were a few things that seemed to have a greater importance now.

'There's something more here, I'm not seeing.' Shikamaru thought as he continued to concentrate.

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Shino stood in the center of the arena, calmly awaiting the call to begin. Tenten was looking at him in a small amount of fear. She remembered the cold stare she had received from him one month prior.

"Hey Shino, you know I didn't agree with what Neji did right?" She asked.

"I am aware of the fact." Shino said simply, his expression never changing.

Tenten didn't know how to respond to the comment. While he seemed calm, he didn't react in a way that she could interpret as good or bad. For all she knew he was aware that she didn't approve with what Neji did, but he was still going to try and exact his revenge.

"I hold no grudge against you Tenten. Naruto has already exacted our revenge against Neji. Thus this fight will simply be between two Konoha ninja looking to advance to become chunin." Shino explained.

Tenten took a big sigh of relief and a smile appeared on her face.

"Begin!" Genma announced.

Tenten jumped back and threw a few kunai and shuriken at Shino.

Shino jumped and avoided the projectiles.

Tenten was slightly surprised to see him avoid them. She was a true marksman and could hit a bull's eye every time with any weapon.

'But then again, bull's eyes don't move.' Tenten thought as she pulled out a scroll. She unwound the scroll and bit her finger. She began to spread blood on a few of the symbols on the scroll and weapons appeared. She threw these weapons at Shino in quick secession.

Shino simply jumped to the side once again to avoid the weapons; however they turned to follow him.

'She must be using strings to guide them.' Shino thought as he continued to avoid the projectiles.

Despite knowing just what she was doing, Shino was at a lost as to what he could do to stop her. He continued to dodge the weapons but they got closer with every try.

Making a decision, Shino stood still and awaited the projectiles.

'What's he up to?' Tenten thought as she sent the weapons toward Shino's limbs. She didn't want to hurt him too badly; she just wanted to incapacitate him.

'As I expected.' Shino thought as the weapons bore down on him. He took a deep breath and focused on what he learned from his training with Haku.

He moved his head slightly to the side to avoid the small dagger approaching it. He spun on his right foot to avoid the lances that were heading for his legs. He twisted his arms inward to avoid the small sickles aimed at them. Shino did all of these things in the span of a few seconds, leaving Tenten and the crowd stunned.

"H-how did you do that?" Tenten asked. She had never come across a ninja her age that could move so swiftly.

"Training." Shino said simply. 'Very painful training.' He thought to himself.

Tenten shook her head. She pulled her scroll out again and unsealed a long staff. She could have used her projectiles again but she knew she would get the same result.

'Let's see how he handles some one on one action.' She thought as she pulled on gloves and rushed to attack Shino.

Shino didn't expect Tenten to attack close range. She had seemed to be a predominantly long range fighter, but he could tell by her swift strikes with her staff that she was skilled with just about any weapon.

Shino dodged the staff strikes, silently thanking Haku for the lessons, and contemplated the best way to attack her. Should he release his insects now, she would disengage and put distance between them. While this wouldn't be a problem in itself, he knew she would begin to throw weapons at him again. He could act independently of his insects but he had to use a certain amount of concentration for them to do what they were assigned to do. With Tenten's deadly accuracy he knew he couldn't afford to split his attention even a minute amount if he was to continue to avoid her weapons.

He was literally knocked out of his thoughts when Tenten finally landed a blow to his chest. He jumped back in pain, but Tenten was far from finished. She instantly threw several kunai at him, which he was forced to block with a kunai of his own.

Tenten was on him the moment he landed and continued to send attack after attack toward him. Shino was hurting from the chest blow but was ignoring the pain in favor of avoiding an even more serious injury. He suddenly saw an opening as he was able to grab her staff. He sent a few of his insects into it in hopes of draining her chakra, or at least forcing her to release the weapon and retreat.

"Bad move Shino." Tenten said with a smile as the staff became electrified. Her gloves were specially made with rubber so she didn't feel the charge itself. Shino's insects were not so lucky and were quickly fried. Shino raised his arms and sent a horde of insects toward Tenten.

She leapt back and threw a few kunai toward the insects. While they avoided the weapons the insects couldn't avoid the explosive tags placed on them. The tags went off, consuming the insects.

Shino was busy flexing his hand. He hadn't let go of the staff quickly enough and his hand had taken a shock. He was currently attempting to regain feeling in it.

'Very clever, she made a few weapons to counter my insects.' Shino thought as his hand finally regained feeling.

Tenten looked at Shino with a small smile of respect. He was really giving her a run for her money. He was dodging all her attacks and his counter attacks had to be dealt with quickly, or else.

'Still, I'm going to be the victor here.' Tenten thought s she put her staff away.

'What's she up to?' Shino thought as he saw her pull out two scrolls.

"Hey Shino I want to congratulate you on making me use this so early." She said as she threw the scrolls into the air.

Tenten jumped up and the scrolls unraveled.

"**Twin Rising Dragons jutsu**!" She yelled as she unsealed scores of weapons from the scrolls and began throwing them at Shino.

"**Ninja Art: Mud Wall jutsu**!" Shino said as a massive wall of earth raised up from the ground.

The wall of earth shielded Shino from the weapons that she had thrown. However, Tenten was far from done.

'Take this!' Tenten thought as she sent a massive spiked ball into the wall of earth. The wall's integrity had already been worn down by the dozens of weapons hitting it and the ball was too much for the weakened wall and it broke through.

Shino was perforated with dozens of weapons before he dispersed into insects. Tenten landed and calmly looked around to find Shino's hiding spot. She kept on her toes as she knew that Shino was great at surprise attacks.

"Where are you Shino?" Tenten called, but she received no answer.

Suddenly a horde of insects erupted from underneath Tenten, engulfing her. Shino appeared from inside of the trees. He watched as his insects attacked Tenten. However, suddenly the entire mass of insects exploded.

'How is that possible?' Shino thought as he suddenly jumped to avoid a swarm of shuriken.

"There you are." Tenten said with a smile as she appeared in front of Shino.

"How?" Shino asked.

"Substitution." Tenten said simply as she pulled out her scrolls again.

"You substituted yourself with one of your exploding weapons." Shino said in clarification.

"That's right. Now then let's get back to the fight!" Tenten said with a smile. She jumped into the air after throwing her scrolls up first.

"**Twin Rising Dragons jutsu**!" She yelled as she began to unseal numerous weapons, preparing the attack Shino again.

'What am I going to do?' He thought as she began to throw the weapons.

"**Mud Wall jutsu**!" Shino yelled as he created his wall again. However, unlike last time, he put an extra amount of chakra into the jutsu resulting in a much thicker wall to protect himself.

Shino sighed as he heard Tenten pound away at the wall of earth. She was obviously trying to destroy it again, but this wall would give Shino enough time to figure out what he was going to do.

'I have lost quite a few insects during this match. If I am to compete in the next match, or win this one for that matter, I must find a way to ground her for good." Shino thought. Normally he could distract an opponent and surprise them with his insects, however, Tenten had had a month to prepare for this fight and obviously knew to keep her guard up at all times.

"What would Naruto do?" Shino asked himself as he tried to think like his very unusual teammate.

Suddenly Shino was struck by a strange idea.

'That just might work.' He thought as he decided to implement his plan. His wall of earth was about to crumble so he knew he had to work fast.

Tenten was getting very annoyed with the wall in front of her. It was very tough and it was taking everything she had to break through.

'That's it!' She thought as she sent a horde of daggers toward the wall. But instead of hitting it, she used a few strings connected to them to turn around the wall. The wall instantly fell and she saw Shino cringing on the ground. His left arm had been pierced by a few of the knives. It hung useless at his side.

"It's over Shino." Tenten said as she halted her attack.

"No it isn't. I'm not beaten yet." Shino said as he tried to rise, though he fell to his knees.

"Those knives were coated in a paralyzing agent. " Tenten said as Shino fell face down.

'Is it really over, or is this a trick?' Tenten wondered as she kept her distance. If this was the real Shino then she had won, but if this was a clone then she couldn't let her guard down.

'I'll strike again, if it's a clone then it will disperse but if it is Shino then I could seriously injury him.' Tenten thought in discontent. Shino could be a clone that hadn't dispersed yet, but it could also be the real Shino who decided to take a hit and lower her guard.

Tenten jumped into the air and decided to finish the fight.

'I hit him in a known lethal point. A clone will disperse, Shino won't" She thought as she prepared to attack.

Suddenly her arm felt weak. She looked at it and was horrified to fins insects running along her arms. She swiftly tried to dislodge them, only to feel her entire arms growing numb.

'His insects can't be draining my chakra that fast can they?!' She thought as he arms feel uselessly to her side.

Shino slowly got up and pulled out the knives in his arm.

"It looks like I win Tenten." He said simply.

"But that's not possible." Tenten said as her vision became blurry.

"I'm afraid it is. I knew that you were constantly on the lookout for me to use my insects to swarm you. So I decided to take a blow to defeat you." Shino said simply.

"But I know you were affected by the agent." Tenten said as she fell to her knees.

"I still am." He said as he nodded to his unmoving arm.

"I was able to have my insects cut it off before it could affect the rest of my body. Then, while you were deciding what to do, I had a few of my insects siphon some of the poison and inject it into you. I could only use a few of the insects as you would have discovered too many moving along your wires at once." Shino explained.

"Heh, you really are something Shino." She said with a small smile as she feel to the ground.

"As are you Tenten." He said in respect as she passed out.

"Winner Shino Aburame. The next match will be between Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara of the Desert, which will commence in 30 minutes." Genma announced.

Shino held his numb arm and walked back to the waiting area. He stopped when he felt a certain insect close by. He turned to the audience and saw Haku smiling at him. Shino gave her a small smile and a nod of thanks as he left to reunite with his friends.

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"That was a big risk Shino." Naruto said.

"And it's exactly the kind of thing you would do." Shino calmly replied as a medic ninja attended to his arm.

"Yeah, but you're supposed to be the smart one of our group." Naruto said with a smile.

Shino didn't replay as his gaze went towards Gaara.

"Naruto be careful, something's not right about him." Shino said in a serious tone.

"You have no idea." Naruto replied with a serious tone of his own.

They watched as the sand ninja team went with their jonin instructor. Naruto looked at Shikamaru and saw that he was staring at the sand team with a suspicious look.

"What's up Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, but I have the feeling that something big is going to happen soon, how troublesome." He said with a sigh.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned to see Hinata, Kurenai and Kakashi walking toward them.

"Hinata-chan, what are you doing here?" He asked with a smile.

"We just came to congratulate you two for coming so far." Kurenai said with a smile of her own.

"You are doing great Naruto, as are you Shino." Kakashi said with a smile.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei." Naruto said. Shino nodded his thanks as well.

"How do you plan to get past Gaara's sand Naruto-kun?' Hinata asked.

"I have no idea!" Naruto said with a laugh, everyone sweat dropped at this statement.

'If only I could use my sword.' Naruto thought as he looked at the blade. It still hadn't responded to him and he feared he may never get it to accept him again.

"I'm sure you'll do well. Good luck to you two." Kurenai said as she turned to leave. Kakashi gave them both a thumbs-up and left with Kurenai.

Shino saw the look on Hinata's face and stood to give them some time. He saw Haku walking towards them and smiled as he walked to meet her.

Hinata slowly walked up to Naruto and wrapped him in a hug.

"H-Hinata-chan?" He asked with a blush. Having her this close to him was making his head fuzzy and his heart was beating rapidly.

"Thank you Naruto-kun for not killing Neji." Hinata said as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Hinata, how can you still care for him?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Because I can still remember the kind child he was when we were very little. I know he lost his way, and I would gladly beat him up myself if he continues to talk about fate, but I hope that he will change back to that kind child he used to be." She said in response.

"You truly have a forgiving heart Hinata-chan." Naruto said as he wrapped his arms around her.

He never wanted this moment, this feeling to end. Just being here with Hinata in his arms gave him a peace that he had never known before. But all good things must come to an end and he slowly released her.

"Watch me Hinata-chan. I will beat Gaara." He said with his foxy smile.

Hinata gave him a smile of her own and turned to leave.

"Naruto-kun, promise me something." Hinata said.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

Hinata turned and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Don't lose." She said with a bright smile as she turned to leave.

Naruto was frozen in place. His mind had effectively shut down from the kiss. It felt like a ripple of warmth had spread from his cheek down throughout his body, leaving him with an electrified feeling. Naruto raised his hand and touched his cheek in astonishment.

'Hinata-chan…..kissed……me.' He thought as the largest grin ever appeared on his face.

"Wahoo! " Naruto yelled in joy. His face seemed to be set in a permanent smile.

'No way I can lose now!' Naruto thought as Shino returned from his meeting with Haku. He also had a large grin on his face and Naruto couldn't wait to grill his friend on what happened.

The sand team returned and not even a glare from Gaara could ruin Naruto's mood.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara of the desert come down!' Genma yelled.

"It's time Uzumaki." Gaara said. He seemed to have recovered from Lee's beating and was once again 100%.

"Yes it is. I hope you're ready for this." Naruto said his smile becoming an eager smirk.

"I hope you're ready to die." Gaara said as he went down to the arena floor.

Naruto jumped down and prepared himself. This would be the fight that determined so many things in his mind. He knew he was fighting another demon container and he knew that he had better get his mindset right, for Gaara had no qualms about killing him. He looked up into the crowd and saw Hinata retake her seat. She had a blush on her face and seemed to be worried that he was offended by what had just happened. He gave her a pure, honest smile of thanks and acceptance and saw her pale lavender eyes light up in happiness.

"I'm going to win this fight Gaara." Naruto said with absolute certainty.

"No you will not. You won't even survive!" Gaara said as he sand exploded from his gourd.

Naruto drew his sword and fell into his kenjutsu stance.

"Semifinal match: Naruto Uzumaki vs Gaara of the desert begin!" Genma yelled.

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**Here's chapter 23. I know the Shikamaru/Temari and Shino/Tenten fight weren't great. Sorry about that. But I can guarantee that you will want to be here for the next few chapters. It's time for Naruto/Gaara! Who will win? When will the invasion begin? What do I have planned next? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Naruto vs Gaara**

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Gaara wasted no time and sent his sand toward Naruto.

Naruto jumped out of the way and threw a few shuriken to distract Gaara. He noted that Gaara had to raise his hand for his sand to rise up and block the weapons.

'What's up with that?" Naruto thought.

His answer came when he felt himself get slammed in the back. He righted himself and landed on his feet. He turned around but didn't see anything. He looked closely and saw tiny particles floating high in the air. He threw a shuriken and was surprised to see the particles converge and block the projectile.

"You look confused." Gaara said.

"What was that?" Naruto asked.

"My sand shield. Every fight I have been in so far has been interrupted before I was able to kill my opponent. Now my sand shield will float around the arena. Neither of us will be leaving, and most importantly no one will interrupt us." Gaara said with a maniac grin.

"But I also see that you have to make your sand protect you now. That means you have given up quite an advantage." Naruto said with a grin. He didn't have to worry about getting through that sand shield every time he attacked.

"That may be, but this fight will continue until you are dead!" Gaara said as he unleashed another blast of sand at Naruto.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as he avoided the blast of sand. Ten clones appeared and charged toward Gaara.

Gaara raised his hands and unleashed a large wave of sand toward the clones. The sand was moving too fast for half of the clones and they were dispersed. The other five were able to avoid the wave and were closing in on Gaara. Gaara destroyed two more with swift sand blasts; however the last three were on him instantly. One went for a high kick to his chest, another punched him in the face, the last one slashed with his sword.

Gaara burst into sand and the sand immediately surrounded the clones.

"**Sand Burial!**"

The captured clones were instantly crushed and Gaara appeared from the ground.

"You will have to do much better than that Uzumaki. Show me that power you used before! Show me your fury!" Gaara yelled as his sand whipped around him.

Naruto's face darkened slightly at Gaara's state. Gaara used to have a small veil of sanity about him, but his eyes and stance now showed that he was barely holding onto what little sanity he had left by a thread.

'I don't want to know what will happen if he completely loses it.' Naruto thought.

"I don't need to use that to defeat you." Naruto said.

"Why do you fight it? You are just like me Uzumaki except for one thing. You care for others. You fight for others. You should only fight for yourself, only then will you have true strength." Gaara said.

"True power comes from defending what you love." Naruto said with certainty.

"Are you not a demon container?" Gaara asked.

Naruto's eyes froze in anger as he rushed toward Gaara.

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled. He certainly didn't want his secret revealed to the entire audience.

Gaara's smile widened as he dodged the punch to the face and hit Naruto in the chest with his sand.

'Darn it! I can't believe I lost my focus like that.' Naruto thought as he rose to his feet, clutching his chest.

"You bore me without that power. Show it to me!" Gaara yelled as he once again sent his sand toward Naruto.

"**Ninja art: Slicing Cyclone**!" Naruto yelled as he unleashed his wind attack.

Both blasts collided in mid air, but Naruto's was stronger and it tore through the sand attack to hit Gaara. Gaara was launched into the wall at high velocity.

Naruto once again pulled out his sword in anticipation, Gaara was far from done.

Gaara rose up, his smile never leaving his face. His sand armor was deeply slashed and broken after that attack. Had it hit him without his armor and he would have been hurt badly. His smile actually widened at this knowledge.

"That's it Uzumaki. Show me your strength." He said as he made a hand sign and his sand armor repaired itself. He then sent wave after wave of sand toward Naruto. Naruto dodged and avoided them as best he could. Gaara was becoming increasingly more powerful as the fight went on.

'He's using the power of his demon.' Naruto thought as he barely dodged a sand attack. Gaara's sand was much faster than when he fought Lee and it was all Naruto could do to avoid it.

"Is that the best you can do?! Show me your strength Uzumaki!" Gaara yelled.

"Fine! **Chakra Flash!**" Naruto yelled as he made eye contact with Gaara and sent a focused blast of chakra into Gaara face.

Gaara yelled in surprise at being momentarily blinded. Naruto wasted no time in attacking. He created five clones and all attacked Gaara in mass. One clone hit Gaara in the face as another kicked him in the chest. The third slashed him in the back as the fourth used his hidden shadow snakes to hold Gaara in place, leaving Gaara defenseless to avoid Naruto's attack.

"**Slicing Cyclone!**" Naruto yelled as he used both hands to unleash an even more powerful cyclone of highly compressed wind. The attack hit Gaara dead on and the sand ninja could do nothing but scream as his sand armor was torn from his body.

"Now!" Naruto yelled as the clone holding Gaara hurled him high into the air. One of the clones jumped up and grabbed Gaara.

"Boom!"

The clone exploded and Gaara's body plummeted toward the ground. The next four jumped onto the grounded sand genin and promptly exploded.

'Let's see him get up from that.' Naruto thought, though he had the sinking suspicion that Gaara would do just that.

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Hinata looked on in concern. It wasn't the fact that Naruto was using very brutal attacks that worried her. It was the fact that he felt he _had_ to use them. For him to be pushed like this must have meant that he was worried about Gaara.

'What is it about him that worries you Naruto-kun?' Hinata thought as she looked at Kurenai and Kakashi. They both seemed slightly on edge for some reason.

Hinata returned her gaze back to the fight. Thanks to Gaara's shield swirling in the air, no one was going to be able to stop the fight until it was over between them.

Hinata didn't like to dwell on the fact that one of the contestants would mostly likely be dead by the time the fight was over.

'Please be safe Naruto-kun.' She thought as she Gaara somehow get up.

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Naruto watched as Gaara rose to his feet. He was not surprised that Gaara wouldn't stay down from the combined blasts of four exploding shadow clones.

'He won't stay down.' Naruto thought as he saw Gaara's eyes. They were crazed. Naruto didn't know what could have caused Gaara to become the way he was and he really didn't want to know.

"You are powerful Uzumaki, but you are holding the majority of it back, why?" Gaara asked as yellow chakra began to swirl around him.

"I only use that power if I need to." Naruto said as he dropped into a defensive stance.

"You truly are a fool! This power is all that matters!" Gaara said with an insane laugh as sand exploded around him and swept toward Naruto.

The sand was moving so fast that Naruto had no other choice but to brace himself. The sand swept him back into the wall with rock cracking force. Naruto rose to his feet with a pant. Fighting close combat seemed like the best tactic, however, Gaara only need a small amount of space to launch a sand attack at him. Had he the speed of Lee this wouldn't be a problem, but he didn't. Also, Gaara seemed to have discarded his veil of sanity. He was becoming ever more powerful and Naruto was hard pressed with a solution that wouldn't call for him to have to resort to using kyuubi's chakra again.

"What will it take Uzumaki? What will it take for you to release that power? I want to see it! I want to fight against someone that powerful! Your blood will be the best that I have ever feed mother and your death will forever prove my existence!" Gaara said as he began a long stream of hand signs.

'What's he up to?' Naruto thought.

"Fine then I will force you to show me that power again!" Gaara yelled as he continued his hand signs and a dome of sand surrounded him.

Naruto stood in confusion as to what Gaara was doing. He created a clone and sent it toward the dome. The clone attacked the dome but was instantly destroyed by sand spikes that emerged from the surface and impaled the clone. Naruto got the information back from the clone and got the memory of hearing Gaara continuing to create signs in the dome.

'Whatever he's doing, he doesn't want to be disturbed. Too bad!' Naruto thought as he created hand signs.

"**Ninja art: Slicing cyclone!**" He yelled as he unleashed the wind attack. The cyclone slammed into the dome and began to drill into the surface. However, the dome wouldn't go without a fight and began to harden itself to the wind attack. Naruto had to release his attack or risk running out of chakra. He could sustain the cyclone as long as he had chakra to burn. However, he had the suspicion that he would need everything he had to win this fight.

Naruto continued to look at the dome and knew that time was running out. Whatever Gaara was doing was nothing good as he could feel more and more demonic chakra seeping through the dome.

'Here goes nothing.' Naruto thought as he got an idea. He created a few shadow clones and drew his sword.

Naruto stood and let one clone latch onto his back. Every other clone, except for one, latched on to the previous clone until there was a line of Nartutos. The final clone stood back and began hand signs.

"Charge!" Naruto yelled as the clones all pushed off. The final clone released a slicing cyclone toward the line of Narutos. The cyclone tore through clone after clone, but it also greatly increased Naruto's speed. By the time the final clone had been dispersed by the wind attack, Naruto was moving with enough velocity to pierce the dome with his sword. Naruto's back was sliced up by the wind attack, but he felt it a fair trade off when he felt his sword pierce flesh and blood.

The dome exploded outward and Naruto was blown back as Gaara was revealed. His shoulder had been pierced by Naruto's blade; blood was streaming down his arm.

"This pain is so unfamiliar. You are the first to ever cause me to bleed Uzumaki." Gaara said softly as he held his shoulder. Suddenly Gaara began to laugh. It wasn't a laugh of happiness, but one of insanity.

"You are truly worthy Uzumaki. You will be the one whose death forever confirms my existence." He said as sand began to creep along his shoulder and arm. Gaara's left arm became completely encased in sand and became the arm of a monster. It had claws and strange black symbols along it.

Naruto watched as the sand began to spread toward Gaara's face. Half of his face became covered in sand and Gaara's left eye became Shukaku's eye. It was diamond shaped, golden in color and had four black dots surrounding the pupil.

"Now do you see Uzumaki!" He yelled as he rushed toward Naruto in an impressive burst of speed. Nartuto jumped out of the way as Gaara's demon fist smashed the ground Naruto was standing on.

'What the heck?!' Naruto thought as Gaara continued to attack him, all the while his face twisted in an insane smile.

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The Kazekage made a very subtle movement. The anbu from earlier nodded his head and began to make hand signs. Suddenly a genjutsu was placed over the crowd, putting them to sleep. The shinobi in the crowd noticed the genjutsu and released it.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion that rocked the stadium. Unbeknownst to the ninja in the stadium, three huge snakes had smashed through the walls of the village and the armies of the sand and sound villages were marching through.

Their objective was simple, burn the hidden leaf village to the ground.

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Sarutobi looked toward the Kazekage in surprise and anger.

"Show yourself Orochimaru!" He said as he jumped back and removed his armor to reveal his battle outfit.

"How did you know?" Orochimaru asked as he took off his disguise.

"That doesn't matter! You will not succeed in this fight!" Sarutobi said.

"Wake up Sarutobi-sensei! The armies of sand and sound are invading as we speak. Your troops are completely unprepared to handle this attack. This is the day the leaf village will burn!" Orochimaru said with an evil grin.

"That's what you think." Sarutobi replied with a smirk of his own.

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Naruto looked around in confusion. Enemy ninja were appearing all throughout the crowd and the leaf ninja were fighting desperately to defeat the enemies as well as protect the villagers present that were sleeping.

'What the heck is going on?!' Naruto thought. He had never even considered that his home village would be attacked. He looked over to see that Hinata, Kakashi, and Kurenai were fighting multiple enemies.

'I have to help.' Naruto thought as he rushed toward them. However, Gaara appeared in front of him and slammed him back.

"Out of my way Gaara! I don't have time for this!" Naruto said, the match no longer mattering to him.

"You are going nowhere Uzumaki!" Gaara yelled as he attacked Naruto again.

Naruto continued to dodge as Genma jumped in between them.

"Enough!" He yelled as he kicked Gaara in the head.

"Naruto, the exam is over. Gaara is most likely going to try to transom form into his full demon form." Genma said.

"How do you know that?" Naruto asked.

"No time for that now! He seems to be going after you so I want you to lead him away from here and await backup from your jonin instructor." Genma said as Baki, Temari and Kankuro jumped down to check on Gaara. Shino, Shikamaru and Choji jumped down beside Naruto.

"You okay Naruto?" Shino asked.

"I'm fine Shino, but can you believe what's going on?" Naruto asked in disbelief at the mayhem.

"It doesn't matter if we believe it or not. It's happening and we need to deal with it." Shikamaru said in his usual bored tone, though close inspection would show him to be looking intently at the sand team.

"Gaara is dead set on fighting me, and he's going to release his demon." Naruto said.

"He has a demon sealed inside of him?" Choji asked in surprise.

"It makes sense." Shikamaru said, not at all surprised.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru and could tell by the calm stare the shadow user gave him that Shikamaru knew his secret. Shikamaru gave a bored shrug as if to say that it wasn't a big deal with him.

"Uzumaki!!"

All the genin returned their attention to the sand team. Gaara was on his feet and the sand had covered even more of his body. Currently, his left arm, left half of his face, and his backside were covered in sand and he was looking more and more demonic.

"We can't let him transform in the middle of the city, especially with an invasion force attacking." Shino said calmly.

"It's me he wants so I'll lead him into the forest." Naruto said.

"You're going to fight him by yourself?" Choji asked in disbelief.

"I'm the only one who can." Naruto said quietly as he turned his gaze to where Hinata, Kakashi, and Kurenai were fighting.

"Go Naruto. We will handle things here." Shikamaru said.

"Right! Hey Gaara catch me if you can!" Naruto yelled as he took off out of the stadium.

Gaara looked at his prey and with a roar, chased after him.

"Gaara wait, don't forget about the plan!" Gaara's jonin, Baki said.

"Shut up! He will die by my hand, nothing else matters!" Gaara yelled as he took off after Naruto.

"Darn him!" Baki said as he rushed to catch up. He jumped back when Genma appeared in front of him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Genma said as he took out a kunai.

"I don't have time for this! Stand aside or die." Baki said.

"You're attacking our village and you think I'm going to listen to you?" Genma said as he rushed in to attack.

"Temari, Kankuro, follow Gaara and bring him back!" Baki yelled as he fought Genma.

"Hai!" They both said as he ran in the direction that Gaara and Naruto had taken off in.

"We can't let them catch Naruto." Shino said as he, Shikamaru and Choji ran after the sand genin to help their friend.

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Kakashi killed a sound ninja who had gotten too close and his gaze turned to where Naruto was leading Gaara out of the stadium.

'So you've decided to fight him alone.' Kakashi thought as he fought off a sand ninja. Kakashi and Kurenai were among the many jonin who were currently fighting off scores of enemy ninja, while trying to protect the young genin in the crowd.

'Though not all of them need protecting.' Kakashi thought as he watched Hinata hold her own against a sound chunin.

"Hinata, follow Naruto and Shino. Help them any way you can!" Kurenai said as she dispatched two sound ninja attempting to flank her.

"Hai sensei!" Hinata said as he ran to catch up with Naruto.

"Do you think that was a good idea, Kurenai? Naruto is probably the only one of them who can match Gaara. Sending Hinata may not be the best plan." Kakashi said as he stood back to back with the genjutsu mistress against the ninja surrounding them.

"Maybe, but I feel a lot better if she isn't fighting against so many enemy ninja at once. At least Naruto should be able to keep her safe." Kurenai replied.

"True. Hey how about a bet." Kakshi said as they both attacked the enemy ninja that had been surrounding them.

"What kind of a bet?" Kurenai asked as she slammed a kunai into the chest of a sand ninja. She was surprised that Kakashi would joke at a time like this but decided to see what he had in mind.

"If I dispatch the most ninja you have to cook me a three meal dinner." Kakashi said with a smile as he punched a sand jonin in the face while simultaneously killing a sand jonin with a kunai to the skull.

"And when I when, you have to give up reading those books of yours for a month." Kurenai said with a smile as she placed five sound ninja in a genjutsu.

"Deal." Kakashi said as they once again found themselves back to back against the attacking ninja.

'Hinata, Naruto, Shino, please be careful.' Kurenai thought as she and Kakashi attacked.

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All throughout Konoha the two armies of the sound and sand were cutting through the initial defenders. Many konoha ninja fell to the invaders.

However, the generals of the armies found it strange that they were almost to the center of the village and had not run across stronger opposition.

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Naruto looked behind him and saw that Gaara was fast approaching. He was already out of the village and running through the trees. He stopped suddenly and turned around to face Gaara. He could tell that this would be the hardest trial he had ever had to overcome.

"So you finally decided to stop running, Uzumaki?" Gaara said as he landed in front of Naruto.

"I wanted to get you away from the village and my friends before we continued." Naruto said.

"You continue to care for others. That is a weakness." Gaara yelled.

"Why do you believe that?" Naruto asked as he drew his sword.

The psychotic gleam in Gaara's eyes seemed to lessen for a moment.

"I used to be like you Uzumaki. I had someone precious to me. He was my uncle Yashamaru. He loved my when my siblings, father and village despised my very existence. My mother died giving birth to me as the Shukaku was sealed inside of me during my birth. Yashamaru always looked out for me, cared for me and loved me, until one day." Gaara said, his expression darkening.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"He tried to kill me! My father gave him a mission to kill me as my father believed that I was too much of a liability. Yashamaru attacked me in disguise and I used my sand to mortally wound him. Before he died he told me that he never loved me. He always saw me as the monster that had killed his sister. He even told me that my mother despised the village for what they had done to her and wanted me to love only myself." Gaara said.

"So then I saw the truth! In this world, the only person you should care about is yourself! Now do you see why fighting for others is pointless Uzumaki?!" Gaara said with the manic gleam returning to his eyes.

Naruto stood stunned at what he had just learned. Looking at Gaara was looking through a dark mirror. He knew that had he not had his precious people that he could become exactly as Gaara was now.

'I could have ended up just like him.' Naruto thought as Gaara attacked. Naruto was not in the state of mind to dodge and Gaara's sand covered arm smashed Naruto into a tree.

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"Shino!"

Shino, Shikamaru and Choji stopped their pursuit of the sand genin and turned to see Hinata coming up behind them.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" Shino asked.

"Kurenai-sensei told me to come and back you up."She replied.

"We need to get going then." Shikamaru said.

"There may be a problem." Shino said suddenly before they took off.

"What's that?" Choji asked.

"Hinata was followed." Shino said as he stared back the way Hinata had come from.

"How do you know that?" Shikamaru asked.

"The insect Hinata keeps on her alerted me to numerous chakra signatures that were following just out of range for her to sense them." Shino answered.

"This is just great, how many of them are there?" Choji asked.

"Eight, though one seems to be staying further back then the other seven." Shino replied.

"Truoblesome, he must me the leader and is taking precautions." Shikamaru said.

"Should we stay and fight them together?" Choji asked.

"No, you three go ahead. I will handle them." Shino replied before Shikamaru could reply.

"Are you sure about that? At least one of them is going to be a jonin." Shikamaru stated as he gave Shino a dead serious look.

"I am aware. Now go!" Shino said with authority.

"Be careful Shino." Hinata said as they left the Aburame.

'Well, this won't be fun.' Shino thought as he sensed the ninja fast approaching.

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"Temari, those genin are still following us." Kankuro said to his older sister.

"I'm aware of that!" She snapped back.

"What's your problem?" Kankuro asked in confusion.

"None of your business." She said softly. She knew that Shikamaru was one of the ninja following them and for some reason she didn't want to fight him for she knew that this time it would be a fight to the death. She didn't agree with a lot of things that had happened over the years. She didn't agree that her youngest brother should have been used as a weapon, she didn't agree with the invasion, and she certainly didn't agree with killing the genin following them.

"Fine then I'll slow them down while you go and get Gaara." Kankuro said.

"Are you crazy?! You can't beat all three of them by yourself." Temari said.

"Hey have a little confidence in me." Kankuro said as he stopped and awaited the genin.

"Just be careful baka." She said as she continued on.

Kankuro waited for a few minutes until the three leaf ninja appeared in front of him.

"About time you made it here." Kankuro said as he unwrapped his doll crow.

"Hey guys, you go ahead. I have some unfinished business with him." Choji said.

"You're sure?" Shikamaru asked his best friend.

"Oh yeah. I have been waiting for this for a long time." Choji said with a grin.

"Alright then, be careful. Let's go Hinata." Shikamaru said as he and Hinata continued on.

"Where do you think you're going?"Kankuro yelled as he sent crow after them. Choji jumped in the way in an impressive bout of speed for someone his size and punch the puppet.

"Your fight is with me you make up wearing freak." Choji said with determined eyes.

"Fine then. I'll take care of you quick and stop the other two." Kankuro said.

"Ha, we'll see." Choji said as he prepared himself.

"You know you should be happy you're fighting me." Kankuro said.

"And why is that?" Choji asked.

"Because you really don't want to go up against Gaara right now. You'll be fighting a living nightmare." Kankuro said with absolute seriousness.

Choji didn't replay he had to trust that his friends would deal with the issue.

"Let's go!" He yelled as he charged the sand genin.

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Temari could feel that Kankuro had stopped, but she could also tell that two more were still following her. They would likely overtake her soon and she needed a plan.

'Knowing Gaara, he's going to release Shukaku soon. I guess there's no reason to get too close.' She thought as she stopped and waited. She took a deep breath as she knew who was coming and it wasn't a confrontation she wanted to take part in.

Shikamaru and Hinata landed in front of her sooner than she expected.

"What's up lazy?" She asked, though her face was devoid of her usual smirk.

"Hinata go ahead and help Naruto." Shikamaru said, his eyes never leaving Temari's.

"Okay Shikamaru." She said. She took a moment to look between the two ninja. She could see that there was something going on between them. She shrugged it off as she had something more important to take care of.

When she left the two genin simply looked at one another.

"Well I guess this is the part where we fight." Temari said as she tried to bring up a believable smile.

"I guess it is." Shikamaru said in a tone that could be considered upset.

"This time only one of us can walk away alive Shikamaru." She said sadly as she opened her fan.

"So it seems." Shikamaru said as he prepared himself.

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Naruto stood up with a pant. Gaara was relentless in his attacks. All the while Naruto's mind was stuck in the mindset that he couldn't beat Gaara.

'He's fully using his demon. He only fights for himself. Can I really beat someone like that?' He thought.

"What's wrong with you?! Where is your passion?! Where is your fighting spirit?!!"Gaara yelled as he attacked again.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled as she finally arrived and kicked Gaara in the head.

"Hinata-chan, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked his friend.

"I was sent to help you." Hinata said.

"Hinata you've got to get out of here! We can't stand against him." Naruto said.

"Why?" Hinata asked.

"He only fights for himself. He's just like me except he doesn't let anything stop him from killing anyone in his way. I don't think I can beat him." Naruto said softly.

Naruto was stunned when Hinata slapped him.

"Hinata?" He asked stunned.

"What's wrong with you?! That's not the Naruto-kun I know. You never let anything stop you! Isn't that your nindo?" She asked angrily. She cared for Naruto deeply, but she knew that she had to knock him straight.

'My nindo? That's right my nindo is to protect and defend all those that are precious to me, even if it means my life.' Naruto thought as a smile appeared on his face.

"Thanks Hinata-chan, I needed that." He said with a smile.

"I'm glad you're back to your old self Naruto-kun. But if you ever start talking like that again then I will knock some sense into you." She said with a sweet smile.

"You've been hanging around Anko-neesan too much." Naruto said softly.

They were interrupted when an arm of sand grabbed Hinata and slammed her against a tree. It didn't release her; instead the arm fell away leaving the hand to bind her to the tree.

"Hinata-chan!!" Naruto yelled.

"You shouldn't let your guard down Uzumaki!" Gaara said as he pulled the sand arm back and reformed the hand.

"Let her go!" Naruto snarled in anger.

"That hand will crush the life out of her until I am defeated Uzumaki. I now see that I must hurt the ones you care about to see that power. Or will you let her suffer slowly and die?" Gaara said with an evil smile.

Naruto face was down. He could feel the white hot fury rushing through him and he could feel Kyuubi's chakra coming out.

"Fine then Gaara! You want it you got it!" He yelled as red chakra surrounded him. His eyes became crimson red and had black vertical slits in them. His nails became claws and his teeth became fangs.

"To protect Hinata-chan, I will destroy you!" He yelled in fury.

"That's it! That's the power I want to fight, come at me with all of your strength Uzumaki!" Gaara yelled as the sand covered his entire torso. Only his legs remained human. His face, arms and chest were covered in sand with black marking on them. Both of his eyes where now the eyes of Shukaku and his eyes were pointed.

Both of them let off demonic roars of fury as they charged toward one another.

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"You will not win Orochimaru." Sarutobi said.

Orochimaru's four body guards had already formed a huge barrier around the two ninja. No one was getting in or out until the battle was concluded.

"You are so deluded Sarutobi-sensei. You will die here and then the rest of this pathetic village will fall." He said as he opened his mouth and pulled out the legendary sword Kusanagi.

"**Summoning Jutsu**!" Sarutboi said as he summoned the lord of the apes, Enma.

"Sarutobi? So you finally decided to finish this snake in the grass like you should have done years ago." The ape lord said.

"That's right I won't repeat the same mistake of the past." Sarutobi said as Enma transformed into a large staff.

"Prepare yourself Orochimaru." Sarutobi said.

"This is the day of your death old man." Orochimaru said as they rushed into a titanic battle.

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**Here's chapter 24! I hope you like it, because next time will be a conglomerate of action, drama, and surpises. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

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"Uzumaki!" Gaara yelled as he and Naruto clashed in midair. Gaara was slightly surprised to see that Naruto could hold his own against Gaara's raw strength. Naruto acted quicker than Gaara thought possible and punched the sand demon container back into a tree. Gaara laid there for a moment in silence.

"Get up." Naruto snarled. He was going to make Gaara pay for what he did to Hinata. If that meant he had to break every bone in Gaara's body to save Hinata, then so be it.

"Hahahaha! You are very interesting Uzumaki!" Gaara yelled as he climbed to his feet. He held up his arms and small protrusions appeared on the sand covered limbs.

"**Sand Shuriken**!" Gaara yelled as he whipped his arms forward and the protrusions flew toward Naruto.

Naruto dodged the sand projectiles easily with his enhanced speed; however Gaara took advantage of Naruto's distracted state. Naruto dodged the last of the shuriken, only to be met face to face with Gaara. Gaara whipped around and smashed Naruto with his sand tail, throwing Naruto into a tree.

"More! I want more!" Gaara yelled in insane glee as Naruto leapt up.

"Don't worry, this fight is far from over!" Naruto yelled as the crimson chakra surrounding him intensified.

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Shino waited for the eight enemy ninja to arrive. He had no delusions of grandeur. He knew that he had to use his head if he wanted to survive. He had lost quite a few insect in the fight against Tenten. His chakra was also not completely replenished either.

'Oh well, no one ever said life was fair.' Shino thought as the chakra signatures approached. He could feel that one of them was hanging a small distance behind the others. If Shikamaru was right then that had to be the jonin.

'I will have to defeat the other swiftly then attack the jonin.' Shino thought as he jumped into the trees to await the first of the sound force.

He didn't have to wait long before he saw three enemy ninja appear in the spot he had just vacated. He could see that they were trackers as they looked around in severe detail to find any clues as to the whereabouts of their prey.

'Time to take them out.' Shino thought as he sent a few of his insects out. He watched as his insects slowly crept up upon the unsuspecting ninja. By the time the first of them had noticed that he had insects crawling on him, they were all too late to stop the insects from draining their chakra.

'That's three down.' Shino thought. Shino was snapped out of his thoughts when a kunai with an explosive tag was thrown in his location. Shino swiftly leapt away as the paper bomb exploded.

"Well look what we have here."

Shino look up and was faced with four of the enemy sound ninja. They had obviously sent the first three forward in case of a trap.

"Looks like an Aburame. Stay clear of him or else you'll end up like these three." The obvious leader of the group said.

'They know about my bloodline. That is going to make this very difficult.' Shino thought. He had lost the element of surprise and they knew about his attacks. To add another problem, Shino couldn't sense the last one of the sound ninja. That meant that he was currently hiding from him and waiting to strike if he was needed.

'This is not going to be easy.' Shino thought as he began to dodge the weapons being thrown at him.

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"**Human Bullet Tank**!" Choji yelled as he increased in size. He then began to spin and the large ball speed toward Kankuro.

Kankuro jumped back and launched crow toward Choji. The puppet opened its mouth and launched out poison needles. However, Choji was moving so fast that the needles bounced off without penetrating him.

'Darn it!" Kankuro thought. He didn't plan to have this much trouble with the fat genin. Choji was attacking viciously and his tank attack was faster and more powerful than during the preliminaries. Kankuro could do little more than dodge. If he were to send crow against that attack, he puppet would undoubtedly be crushed.

"I told you that you would pay!" Choji yelled as he continued to roll toward Kankuro. Kankuro jumped out of the tree he was in and watched in awe as Choji smashed through the thick trunk.

"That's it!" Kankuro said as he launched crow toward the spinning attack. Crow opened its mouth and shot out a small container that sailed and struck the spinning genin. The container exploded and Choji was knocked out of his attack.

"Don't think that you'll be able to beat me so easily. You haven't seen anything from Crow yet." Kankuro said as he once again sent his puppet in to attack. It held out its arms as twin blades extended from its forearms. Choji was slightly dazed from the explosion but had the wherewithal to jump out of the way. He saw that the blades had poison on them and knew he had to be careful.

"Don't underestimate me either!" Choji said as the puppet closed in on him. Acting quickly Choji reached out and grabbed two of the blades, thus halting the puppet. Choji was very glad that he wore ninja wrappings around his hands. The poison would not be able to seep into his skin. With an impressive bout of strength, Choji broke the blades he held and punched the puppet back, cracking its chest.

"What?!" Kankuro yelled as he pulled crow back. This was not going the way he wanted it to. He had expected this fight to be over quick, but Choji was attacking him like a man possessed.

"I told you not to underestimate me!" Choji said as he dropped the broken blades.

Both of the ninja stared at each other with the same stare of determination. Both knew that this fight would most likely come down to who ever made a mistake first. Choji's new strength would be enough to knock Kankuro out with one punch. On the other hand, Kankuro only needed to hit Choji once with a poison weapon to put the large genin done for good.

'I will win!' Both thought as they once again engaged in combat.

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Shikamaru hid behind a tree, trying to catch his breath. The area he had been fighting Temari in was like a war zone. Many trees were stripped bare from her savage wind attacks. Shikamaru thought himself fortunate to have dodged them.

'Then again, she doesn't look like she really wants to hit me.' Shikamaru thought. He had seen the look on her face when they had begun. She didn't have her usual cocky, self assured smirk on her face. She seemed very troubled.

Shikamaru was snapped out of his thoughts when Temari found his hiding spot and leapt toward him in an attempt to knock him out with her fan. Shikamaru jumped out of the way and sent his shadow after her. Temari, not wanting to be caught, jumped up higher into the tree and continued to move until the shadow reached its limit.

"You'll have to do better." Temari said in a serious tone.

"Why are you fighting me?" Shikamaru asked in a bored tone.

"What?" Temari asked in confusion.

"I said why are you fighting me? Earlier you told me to stay safe, which shows me that you don't want me to be harmed. So why are you fighting me?" Shikamaru asked.

"I have no choice! In case you hadn't realized, my village is invading your village. Therefore, we are now enemies and must fight!" She yelled back at him.

"If that's the case then why did you give me that warning earlier?" Shikamaru asked calmly, though his gaze was curious.

"I don't know." Temari said softly as she averted her gaze.

"I think you do." Shikamaru replied. Truth be told he didn't want to fight her either. Though she was technically an enemy, he couldn't bring himself to look upon her as such. To him Temari was an incredibly troublesome, but intriguing female.

"And I think you should keep your mind on staying alive!" Temari yelled as she unleashed a large blast of wind toward Shikamaru.

Shikamaru jumped behind a tree to avoid the blast. He was fairly certain that she didn't really want to kill him, but he still didn't want to take any chances. He threw a smoke bomb in her general direction and leapt away under the cloud cover to find a spot to plan his attack.

'It's troublesome, but I guess I'll have to fight back.' Shikamaru thought.

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The battle in the stadium was fierce but showed signs of letting up soon.

"That's 22 Kurenai." Kakashi said as he dispatched a sand jonin with a kunai to the chest. He turned to attack the three sound ninja behind him when they all stopped suddenly and collapsed to the ground.

"And that's 23." Kurenai said with a smirk as she calmly walked up and kill the three enemy ninja.

The leaf ninja were holding their own against the larger attack force of the sand and sound ninja. Few leaf ninja had fallen to the attack force in the stadium and the defenders were currently finishing up those that were left.

"How is Hokage-sama." Kurenai asked as she defended herself against a sound ninja.

Kakashi killed the sand jonin in front of him and quickly looked toward the large chakra dome that housed the Hokage as well as one of the biggest traitors in Konoha's history.

"He seems to be holding his own." Kakashi said as he ducked under an attack by a sound ninja.

"Then let's finish this up and go help him." Kurenai said as she dispatched the sound ninja she was fighting and leapt toward the stadium floor. However, she was cut off by five enemy ninja that began attacking her in the air. She was able to defeat three of them quickly but was hit in the chest and fell back into the crowd. She was dazed for only a moment, but the remaining two ninja jumped toward her in an attempt to kill her quickly.

"**Fire style: Giant Fire Ball Jutsu**!"

The two ninja screamed in pain as they were consumed by a large ball of fire. Kurenai looked up and saw Kakashi standing in front of her. He turned and helped her up.

"Thanks Kakashi." She said.

"No problem, though that brings my total to 28." He said with his usual eye smile.

He froze when he felt two kunai fly an inch away from either side of his face. He turned and saw that two enemy ninja were attempting to blindside him but were now dead.

"And that makes 30. Looks like you'll be without your books for a while." Kurenai said with a smile of her own.

"We'll see." Kakashi said as they were attacked by more ninja.

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Sarutobi and Orochimaru were currently locked in combat. Orochimaru attacking with his sword and Sarutobi attacking with his staff. Orochimaru was slightly surprised by his former sensei's attacks. He knew that Sarutobi was still a great ninja despite his age, but his sensei had always been an emotional man and Orochimaru had assumed that he would have been plagued by feelings of guilt and failure because of their past.

"You seem to be very focused Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru said as he ducked under a blow.

"You are a threat Orochimaru. You used to be my prized student, but your corrupt way and ideals have turned you into a threat to this village. I will not allow the past between us to stop me from doing what must be done. I will end you here!" Sarutobi said as he doubled his effort.

Orochimaru was surprised to find that his old sensei was actually forcing him back with his savage blows and quick strikes. Orochimaru slashed with his sword, only for Sarutobi to dodge the strike and return a blow of his own toward Orochimaru's sternum. The snake sanin jumped back and opened his mouth wide. A myriad of serpents slithered out of his mouth and raced toward the Hokage.

Sarutobi jumped back himself and raced through hand signs.

"**Fire style: Flaming bullet!**" Sarutobi yelled as he launched small, but powerful blasts of fire from his mouth. The snakes were consumed by the multiple bursts, though they did distract Sarutobi. He turned to see Orochimaru appear behind him and thrust forward with his sword. Sarutobi was able to avoid the swift strike and swept the sannin's legs out from under him. He tried to follow up with a ground crushing blow the Orochimaru's chest, however Orochimaru's body turned to mud after the devastating blow.

"My you are still strong." Orochimaru said as he reappeared.

"I won't hold back. I will defeat you." Sarutobi said.

"We shall see how long you are able to keep this up old man!" Orochimaru said as they once again began their battle.

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Naruto's battle with Gaara was becoming more and more brutal. Gaara was taking every blow Naruto landed and despite him using Kyuubi's power, Gaara only seemed to be getting stronger.

'What's up with him?' Naruto thought in annoyance.

"**Shukaku was always the most unstable of the demons.**"

Naruto froze at the familiar voice of Kyuubi.

'How are you talking to me right now?' He thought.

"**As long as you are using my power, I can communicate with you. Not that I really want to, but I am loathe to allow you to be defeated by the container of Shukaku. You aren't currently hurting him. You need to break through that sand on him and to do that you must continually attack until he is unable to regenerate the sand.**" Kyuubi replied inside of Naruto's head.

Their conversation was cut short when Gaara attacked.

"Uzumaki!" Gaara yelled as he attacked once again. He swung toward Naruto, who simply jumped over the blow and smashed Gaara in the head down toward the ground.

"I'll make you stay down." Naruto snarled as he launched himself toward the sand ninja.

Gaara looked up at Naruto and opened his mouth.

"**Ninja art: Sand storm!**" He cried as he launched a high velocity blast of sand from his mouth.

Undeterred, Naruto began hand signs to counter the attack.

"**Ninja Art: Slicing Cyclone!**"Naruto yelled as he unleashed his wind attack. The attack was much larger than before thanks to Kyuubi's power and quickly overpowered the blast of sand. Gaara yelled in pain as he was struck by the wind attack and deep gashes were inflicted on his body. The sand protected him from the worst of the damage, but he was still hurt.

Naruto continued his descent and attacked Gaara before the sand could reform itself. He punched Gaara in the face and launched him toward a tree.

"**Hidden Shadow Snakes!**" Naruto yelled as he sent out his serpents to grab the sand demon container. He pulled Gaara back toward him and met the sand ninja with a bone crushing blow to the face.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as hundreds of clones appeared. Naruto was going to make sure that Gaara stayed down.

The clones all launched themselves toward Gaara and latched onto him.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked, still slightly dazed by Naruto's assault.

"Boom!"

Every clone exploded, causing a huge shockwave to shake the forest.

"Let's see you get up from that." Naruto said with a pant. He had used quite a bit of chakra during that assault.

"**Not bad brat. You may be worthy of being my container after all.**" Kyuubi said with a very small amount of approval.

"Be still me beating heart.' Naruto replied sarcastically to his tenant. He ignored Kyuubi's subsequent snarl of anger when he felt a massive amount of chakra come from the giant crater that held Gaara.

'There's no way!' Naruto thought in shock. If Gaara got up from that much abuse than Naruto was unsure of what more he could do to the insane ninja.

"UZUMAKI!" Gaara yelled as he launched himself out of the crater. He had seen better days. The sand was barely on him and he was bleeding from several wounds that littered his body.

"Why won't you stay down?" Naruto said in anger. The longer Gaara fought, the more his hand of sand would slowly crush Hinata.

"I must kill you! Only then will my life have meaning. Only then will my existence be proven!" Gaara replied with a pant of exhaustion.

"You are strong Uzumaki. You will see what few of my enemies have ever seen, and what none have ever survived!" Gaara said as yellow chakra surrounded him.

"**Well this is going to be interesting.**" Kyuubi said softly.

'Why do you say that?' Naruto asked his tenant, while keeping his eyes on Gaara.

"**You're about to find out.**" Kyuubi replied.

Naruto didn't have time to ask Kyuubi what he meant when he felt Gaara unleash all of the demonic chakra he had been building up. Naruto could only watch in horror as Gaara disappeared in a swirling mass of sand and a huge body appeared. This was the body of the demon Shukaku. He easily towered over the trees. He had dark blue markings all over his body and on the very top of the head; Gaara could be seen waist deep in the sand demon.

"Gaze into the face of your death! **Ninja art: Forced Sleep Jutsu**!" Gaara yelled to Naruto as he completed the technique and fell asleep.

The effects of the jutsu were instantaneous. The demons golden eyes shifted and seemed to regain color and life.

"**Hahahah I'm free**!"The demon raccoon yelled with psychotic glee.

Naruto was speechless. He had no idea how he was going to fight this monster.

'This is insane! There's no way I can beat something like that!' Naruto thought as Shukaku turned and looked down at him.

"**You have the power of Kyuubi within you. Interesting, so the stupid fox got sealed like me? That's too funny!**" Shukaku said with a laugh.

Naruto could feel the hatred that Kyuubi expelled from being ridiculed by a demon far beneath him in strength.

"**Brat! Take him down**!" Kyuubi snarled.

'How do you suggest I do that?" Naruto yelled at the fox.

"**Shukaku is only in control for as long as that boy is asleep. Wake him up and Shukaku will lose control of that body!**" Kyuubi yelled.

"**Here we go!**" Shukaku yelled as he slammed a fist down toward Naruto.

Naruto was barely able to get out of the way of the attack and felt the massive shockwave that the fist had caused.

'Here goes nothing!' Naruto thought as he ran up the sand arm before Shukaku could pull it back. Naruto had to avoid numerous spikes of sand that extended from the arm he was running on toward Gaara.

"**Hey get off of me!**" Shukaku yelled in anger. It had been a long time since it had last been freed and wanted to have some fun.

Naruto used all of his enhanced speed to avoid the obstacles that were in his way. He finally reached the head and jumped to punch Gaara.

"Wake up!" Naruto yelled as he put all of his power behind the punch.

However, Shukaku had other plans. A dome of sand surrounded Gaara and blocked the blow. Worse yet, the dome began to sink into Shukaku's head. Naruto didn't have time to dwell on this new development before Shukaku shook its head and Naruto was launched into the air.

Naruto looked over toward the Shukaku and was horrified when it opened its mouth toward him.

"**Drilling Air Bullet!**" Shukaku yelled as it slammed its massive stomach with a hand. An enormous blast of high compressed wind enveloped Naruto. He was sent speeding through tree after tree by the blast. When the attack subsided, there was no sign of the blonde genin.

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'This is not going well.' Kankuro thought in annoyance. He and Choji were still locked in a dead even fight. Choji was extremely wary of crows poison weapons and was always ready to evade them. Kankuro for his part took extra care to keep crow from over extending itself. Choji had shown that he possessed the strength to crush his puppet if given the chance.

"Hey don't tell me you're done already." Choji said as he rolled toward Kankuro.

Kankuro jumped out of the way, but Choji stopped instantly and turned to follow him. Kankuro was hard pressed to avoid the giant spinning ninja. Kankuro always relied on his puppet to fight for him and thus had never truly trained himself to fight.

'I have to stop him somehow.' Kankuro thought as he jumped into a tree.

Choji stopped spinning and stared up at the sand ninja.

"Are you going to fight or run?" Choji asked in frustration.

"I'm not the one you should be worrying about." Kankuro yelled as he sent Crow toward Choji once again.

Choji jumped to avoid the poison kunai the puppet shot toward him. The puppet continued to attack Choji, but at a distance. Choji jumped behind a tree to avoid the projectiles being sent his way.

'This isn't working. He just jumps into a tree and I can't get to him. Eventually I'll make a mistake and get poisoned.' Choji thought in annoyance as crow came around the tree to attack again. Choji jumped up into a tree and threw a kunai at the puppet. Crow launched a kunai of its own to counter Choji's then opened its mouth to shoot poison needles at the Akamichi. Choji jumped out of the tree and landed on the ground.

"Now who's the one running away." Kankuro taunted from his position.

"Take this! **Ninja art: Partial Expansion Arm**!" Choji yelled as his right arm expanded to three times its original size. Choji launched the huge limb into the tree Kankuro was currently in. Kankuro was completely caught off guard and fell to the ground in a heap.

"**Partial Expansion Leg**!" Choji yelled as his arm returned to its normal size and his left leg expanded.

Kankuro rolled out of the way to avoid being squashed by the large limb. Climbing back to his feet he looked at Choji with disdain.

"You're really getting on my nerves now!" He yelled as he sent crow in for an attack.

Choji leapt away from the puppet and attempted to expand his arm again. However, Choji felt a sharp pain come from his arm as it refused to expand. To make matters worse, Crow took advantage of his momentary distracted state and launched a ball of poison gas at Choji. Not being able to dodge in time, Choji was surrounded in a cloud of poison gas.

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Shino was not having an easy time of his own against the enemy ninja. He was currently hiding in the undergrowth to catch his breath and reevaluate his position. He had been able to defeat one more of the sound ninja by using a bug clone when the ninja had gotten to confident that they had him beaten.

Unfortunately, that still left him with three of the original seven to deal with as well as the jonin who had refrained from fighting at the moment. Shino was in trouble and he knew it. He was low on chakra and was running out of tricks to defeat them with. Though there were only three left, they had made sure to stick together and continually watched each other's backs. They weren't going to be beaten by a bug clone as they were very careful to stand back and attack from long range if they saw him.

"There he is!" One of them cried as they spotted Shino.

Shino jumped away from the explosive tag that had made its way to his hiding spot. He looked up and saw the three enemy ninja running toward him. Shino calmed himself down and awaited their attack. He knew running would be pointless at this point and at the very least he could hurt them enough so that his friends could deal with them later. Shino didn't plan to survive this fight, but he wasn't going to back down, even in the face of death.

"You finally stopped running, eh?" One of the ninja commented as they pulled out different weapons and threw them toward Shino.

Shino watched them come and remembered Haku's training. He made small movements to avoid the projectiles and ran full speed toward the enemy ninja with a kunai in each hand. They were caught momentarily off guard as they had not expected him to do such a dangerous and possibly suicidal attack.

Shino jumped in the midst of the enemy ninja and instantly avoided a kick directed at his head. He threw his kunai toward the sound ninja, who easily avoided the blow. However, tone of ninja couldn't avoid the insects that were on the kunai that leapt onto his skin and began to drain him. The other two ninja jumped back and began to throw their weapons from opposing directions, seemingly uncaring that they were hitting their teammate. Shino dodged as best he could, but was hit in the right shoulder as well as in his left leg. Shino fell to his knees as he unleashed a majority of his remaining insect toward the initial leader of the seven ninja. The leader was only able to curse Shino before he was enveloped by the insects.

Shino attempted to call them back until an explosion enveloped his insects as well as the sound leader. Shino looked behind him to see the remaining sound ninja standing behind one he had not encountered before.

'That must be the jonin.' Shino thought calmly, even though he knew his time was up.

"I must say that you did an admirable job defeating most of my troops. You are a credit to your village though now your time is up." The jonin said as he pulled out a sword.

'So this is it. I didn't plan to die so young. Farewell Naruto, Hinata….Haku-chan.' Shino thought as the jonin leapt toward him in a bid to end the downed leaf genin.

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Kakashi and Kurenai finished their respective fights, as did the rest of the leaf ninja. They were now all in the center of the stadium awaiting the outcome of the fight with the Hokage.

"So Kurenai, how many did you defeat?" Kakshi asked.

"I took down 45, and you?" she asked.

"Oh only about 55." Kakashi said with a smug look.

"What?!" Kurenai asked.

"That's right, looks like you owe me a three course meal later." Kakashi said with a smile.

Kurenai was about to replay when they noticed something strange from inside of the dome housing the Hokage.

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Sarutobi was starting to feel his age. He was nowhere near his prime and he was swiftly feeling the effects of the high level ninja battle he was currently in. Had he just finished Orochimaru off years before, then he wouldn't be in this situation.

Orochimaru was one of his three students when he was a jonin. Orochimaru, Jiraiyia, and Tsunade were his students and later went on to become three of the most powerful ninja to ever emerge from the leaf village. Orochimaru was always Sarutobi's favorite student though. He had planned on giving the position of the fourth Hokage over to the snake sannin when he retired. That is until he found out about Orochimaru's secret crimes. Orochimaru was kidnapping villagers to perform his sick and twisted experiments. When Sarutobi found out about it he went and confronted his old student. Orochimaru admitted to everything and attempted to flee the village. Sarutobi could have killed him then and there, but he could bring himself to kill his former favorite student. Thus Orochimaru escaped and had caused an untold amount of pain, suffering and death because of Sarutobi's inability to do what needed to be done.

"You look tired old man. This is why someone your age shouldn't be fighting. Just give up and die." Orochimaru taunted.

"Ha you'll eventually get to be my age as well Orochimaru." Sarutobi commented during a break in their fighting. Orochimaru and Sarutobi both housed a number of wounds on them. Sarutobi had a bad gash on his left leg that was affecting his speed as well as a few minor cuts on his upper body. Orochimaru had multiple bruises from the staff strikes that Sarutobi had delivered to him.

"No I won't, I will defeat death and become truly immortal." Orochimaru said with an evil smile as he pulled his face off.

"What?!' Sarutobi yelled in surprise as he saw the face of a young women staring back at him.

"Why do you look so surprised, Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru said in a feminine voice.

"Y-You didn't." Sarutobi said in disbelief.

"Yes I did! I have completed my immortality jutsu. I will never die!" Orochimaru said as his face returned to normal.

"You will fail in your endeavor for immortality Orochimaru. One day you will die." Sarutobi said with convection.

"Ha you are truly a deluded old man! You will die today and the leaf village will burn!" Orochimaru said with a smile.

"You are the deluded one. Look outside of this barrier. My leaf ninja have overcome you forces in the stadium and I can guarantee that the larger invading force inside the village is in for a large surprise." Sarutobi said with a smile of his own.

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The two invading armies were deep within the leaf village but could find no sign of the villagers, or the leaf ninja. They had killed the initial defenders, but they could find no sign of the leaf's large force.

The sand general looked around in confusion. He was about to order his men to spread out over the village until he found he couldn't move.

"What's going on?" he yelled.

"This is our counter attack." Shikaku Nara, the father of Shikamaru, said as he appeared out of the shadows. He made a hand sign and his shadow spread up to strangle the enemy ninja he had captured.

"You guys ready?" Shikaku asked his two old teammates. The other two members of the original Ino-Shika-Cho formation stepped up to stand beside their friend. Inoichi Yamanaka and Chouza Akamichi were the fathers of Ino and Choji.

"I'm always ready for a good fight." Inoichi said with a smile as he activated his mind destruction jutsu on a few of the remaining enemy ninja. The ninja caught in the technique turned and attacked their comrades.

"Count me in! **Ninja Art: Full Body Expansion**!" Chouza said as he grew to the size of a giant, and began to crush the enemy ninja under his feet.

"Let's go Ino-Shika-Cho!" Shikaku said as they rushed off to further attack the enemy ninja.

A few yards away, a group of sound ninja were running to attack a single leaf ninja who had appeared in front of them.

"Ha one leaf ninja? Kill him!" The sound leader of this particular group said as he and his four men attacked.

"You shouldn't underestimate the leaf village." Hayate said with a cough as he pulled out his sword and swiftly killed four of the sound ninja in quick secession.

The leader jumped back and was about to attack Hayate when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see a sword pierced through his chest. He died wondering where these leaf ninja had come from.

"You shouldn't try to do too much Hayate-kun." The purple haired anbu said as she pulled her blade out of the dead sound ninja.

"Don't worry so much Yugao-chan." Hayate replied to his girlfriend.

The rest of Yugao's anbu unit appeared behind her.

"Ma'am what are your orders?" One of the anbu asked.

"That's simple. Find every enemy ninja and kill them." Yugao said with authority.

"Hai!" They yelled as they disappeared to push back the enemy.

"You ready Hayate-kun?" Yugao said as more enemies appeared in front of them.

"Always." Hayate replied with a cough as they both drew their blades and prepared to combat the enemy ninja.

All throughout the hidden leaf village, the leaf ninja mounted a counterattack to push back the enemy ninja. The enemy ninja outnumbered the leaf ninja. However, the leaf ninja had the power of the Hyuga, Aburame, Akamichi, Yamanaka, Nara and Inuzuka clans. Once the clans mounted their offensive, then the tide swiftly turned in favor of the leaf village.

The three snakes that had broken down the gate were looking around at all of the leaf ninja that had appeared before them. They prepared themselves for swift kills, but were sorely disappointed.

"**Summoning Jutsu!**"

Suddenly a giant toad crashed down onto one of the snakes, crushing it to death. The other two snakes turned to attack the toad only to be headed by the twin blades the toad held in its hands.

"It's Jiraiyia-sama!" One of the leaf ninja proclaimed as the toad sannin appeared on the head of the toad.

"Don't just stand there! There' still plenty more to do before this day is done!" Jirayia said as the leaf ninja nodded in acknowledgement and went off the defeat the attacking armies.

'Sensei, you better make it out of this okay.' Jirayia thought as he went to lead a group of anbu.

At the academy, the students were being lead through secret passages toward safety. Konohamaru and his friends were among the students and were slowly drifting behind as they were looking at the destruction that had befallen their village.

"This is insane." Moegi said to Konohamaru.

"Yeah." Konohamaru said as he looked toward the direction his grandfather was in.

'Please be okay old man.' Konohamaru thought as he and his friends turned back to catch up.

"Well look what we have here."

The three students turned and looked on in horror as a group of sand ninja appeared.

"Kill them." The leader said as his subordinates ran toward them.

The three students were frozen in place at the sight of the enemy ninja. However, they were saved from an earlier graze by a horde of kunai that flew over their heads. They turned to see who had saved them and saw Iruka standing there.

"Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, get back with the group." Iruka said, never taking his eyes of off the remaining sand ninja.

"Hai!" They said as they ran past their teacher.

"Look a single chunin to the rescue. You don't really think you can beat all of us by yourself do you/" The sand jonin said in amusement.

"Nope." Iruka said with a smirk.

"That's my job!" Anko said as she appeared behind the sand jonin and killed him with a kunai to the neck.

"Thanks Anko-chan." Iruka said to his girlfriend.

"No problem Iruka-kun, though you can thank my properly later on tonight." She said with a seductive smirk as she ran off the kill more enemy ninja.

'She really is a handful, just like Naruto. I wonder how he is doing?' Iruka thought as he ran to cath back up with the academy students.

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"You will fail Orochimaru. Your ambition to destroy the leaf village is only a dream." Sarutobi said.

"Even if you kill me in this barrier, you will have to face the rest of the leaf village and not even you can defeat them all." Sarutobi said.

"Do you really think I put this barrier up the keep others out? I had this put up to keep you in." Orochimaru said with a vicious smirk.

"And the difference is?" Sarutobi said.

"I want you to see the destruction of your village before I kill you!" Orochimaru said as he ran through a long chain of hand signs.

"**Summoning Jutsu!**" He yelled, though nothing happened.

"It looks like it didn't work." Sarutobi said.

"Look again." Orochimaru said as he looked outside of the barrier.

Sarutobi followed his gaze and saw a single coffin in the middle of the stadium floor.

"What is that?" Sarutobi said.

"The destruction of the leaf village." Orochimaru said as the coffin began to open.

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Kakashi and Kurenai were surprised when the coffin appeared in the middle of the stadium field.

"What's that?" Kurenai asked.

"I have no idea." Kakashi said as the coffin opened.

All of the leaf ninja were shocked when the coffin opened to reveal a person who would never be mistaken for anyone else. Every ninja in existence knew of the man standing before them. The yellow flash of Konoha, the man who singlehandedly brought about victory during the third great ninja war, this was the forth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Minato wore the exact clothing he did in life. He had a green jonin vest under a white cloak that had the kanji for Konoha's yellow flash on the back and red flames along the bottom of the cloak. His spiky blonde hair and blue eyes were exactly the same as well.

"Hey Kakashi, you sure have grown." Minato said with a small sad smile.

"S-Sensei?" Kakashi said with a look of utter disbelief on his face.

"Yeah it's me. Unfortunately Kakashi, this reunion will be far from a pleasant one." Minato said sadly.

"W-what?" Kakashi asked, his mind still trying to process that his former sensei was standing in front of him.

"I have been summoned by Orochimaru to fight you." Minato said as he pulled out a kunai.

"I-I c-can't fight you sensei." Kakashi said in utter shock.

"Then you will die." Minato said as he showed off his impressive speed to run toward Kakashi with the kunai. Kakashi did nothing. His mind was frozen by the fact that his mentor, his sensei, the man that was like a father to him was back among the living and trying to kill him.

"Move Kakashi!" Kurenai yelled as she jumped and pulled the leaf jonin down.

Minato looked toward Kakashi as well as the leaf ninja that were in the stadium. He was loath to fight them, but couldn't stop himself.

"I'm afraid that I must kill you all." He said in a very sad tone. He didn't want to destroy the village he loved so much.

"We will stop you Hokage-sama!" Kurenai said as she rose to her feet. Kakashi was still on his back. He seemed to be in a state of complete shock.

"I certainly hope you will." Minato said with a smile as he rushed to engage the leaf ninja.

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"I-Impossible." Sarutobi said in disbelief.

"Not impossible at all." Orochimaru said with glee as he watched Minato beat ninja after ninja that came after him. Minato was not killing any currently as Orochimaru was unable to place the seal and tag into his head that would have erased his thoughts and made him a killing machine.

'Still, after he is finished with the leaf ninja, it will be child's play to kill them all.' Orochimaru thought.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Sarutobi attacked him again.

"I will kill you!" Sarutobi yelled as he struck vicious blows toward Orochimaru.

"You had better hurry and try to save you pathetic village before the leaf's greatest hero becomes its greatest villain!" Orochimaru said as he continued to avoid the blows.

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Naruto couldn't move. It felt like every bone in his body was broken. The wind attack had blown him through tree after tree and Naruto was completely defenseless. The power of Kyuubi was no longer with him and he could only watch as the Shukaku looked in his direction.

"Hahaha that was too easy. I'm bored now. Oh a village! It's been so long since I destroyed one!" Shukaku said with glee as he turned and began his trek toward the hidden leaf village.

'No! I've got to do something!' Naruto thought. However, his body was not in agreement with his mind as even the slightest twitch would send waves of agony through his body. Naruto's gaze was blurring and he could feel himself losing consciousness.

'I can't fall here! I have to protect me friends!' Naruto thought weakly as his gaze fell upon his sword it was laying beside him.

"Help me." Naruto said weakly to the blade as he somehow found the strength to pick it up.

"Please, help me!" Naruto begged the blade, though it remained silent.

"Please fight with me! Help me to protect those I love. My village, my family, my friends...Hinata-chan, help me to protect them! PLEASE!!" Naruto begged.

Suddenly the sword reacted. The two dragon heads at the ends opened their eyes and mouths, the blade retook its sliver like undertone, and the golden chakra enveloped the blade as well as Naruto. Naruto felt the energy spread throughout his body. The pain, weariness, and exhaustion disappeared. His eyes took on a golden glow.

'Thank you.' Naruto said with sincerity as he stood on his feet. Naruto felt a urging from the blade and listened to it. Naruto held the blade up toward the sky.

"Come forth!" Naruto yelled as a beam of golden light shot up toward the air.

Shukakau felt the rush of power behind it and turned to see that the blonde genin that held Kyuubi was on his feet. This wasn't what truly surprised the sand demon, though. It was more focused on the golden light that was shooting upward into the air.

Suddenly a large roar shook the very earth. Shukaku and Naruto saw a large figure appear in the sky. It was a dragon. The dragon had red scales, large wings, muscular arms and legs, and blood red eyes. The most fascinating thing about this dragon was that it had a red gem in the middle of its forehead.

"**It can't be! You can't be here!**" Shukaku yelled in anger and fear.

"**Shukaku? Well it has been a long time since I last defeated you hasn't it**?" The dragon said as it looked towards the origin of the light that had summoned it. Its gaze feel upon Naruto.

"**Did you call me boy?**" The dragon asked in an inquisitive voice.

"Yeah it was me. Can you help me out here?" Naruto asked, though his eyes were still slightly bugged out at the sight of a living, breathing dragon.

"**You posses the beacon, thus I will fight with you.**" The dragon said as it lowered itself onto the ground for Naruto to climb onto it.

Naruto jumped onto the dragon's head as it took flight.

"Let's go!" Naruto yelled.

"**Very well!**" The dragon roared as it flew toward Shukaku.

"**I will kill you both!**" Shukaku yelled as both sides prepared for a titanic clash of the legendary beings.

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**Here's chapter 25. Man this was a long chapter. I'm tired. I hope you like it. DO NOT MISS THE NEXT CHAPTER! It will have the fights between Naruto, the dragon and Shukaku, as well as Minato versus the leaf ninja. Who will win? Who can stop Minato? What secrets will the dragon reveal? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

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Naruto stood on the top of the dragon's head with a feeling of anticipation. He knew that this would be unlike any battle he had ever been a part of and he was anxious as well as exhilarated.

"**You ready for this kid?**" The dragon asked.

"Oh yeah! Let's go!" Naruto responded. Shukaku also seemed ready for combat.

"**Drilling Air Bullet!**" Shukaku yelled as he unleashed three blasts of highly compressed air.

The dragon flew swiftly and dodged the blasts the sand demon launched.

"**You'll have to do much better than that Shukaku!**" The dragon taunted.

"**I will destroy you!**" Shukaku bellowed in fury.

"I take it there's some bad blood between you two?" Naruto asked as he tried to regain his composure. He was not used to moving so quickly and his equilibrium was off.

"**Yes, Shukaku and I have fought many times before.**" The dragon responded as it opened its mouth.

"**Dragon Fire!**" The dragon roared as it unleashed red hot flames from its mouth. The flames swept over the forest and raced toward Shukaku. However, the flames were halted by a large wall of sand that erupted from in front of the sand demon. The sand was instantly turned to glass from the flames, but Shukaku remained untouched.

"**Nice try!**" Shukaku yelled as he turned and smashed his tail into the wall of glass, shattering it. Afterwards, Shukaku came out of his spin with another wind bullet that launched all of the sharp chunks of glass floating in the air towards Naruto and the dragon.

"Watch out!" Naruto yelled as the shards swiftly approached.

The dragon began to maneuver, but was unable to dodge every shard. Its scales protected it from severe harm but many shards of glass hit the dragon. The dragon flew higher into the air and launched a ball of fire at Shukaku. The sand demon was not fast enough to avoid the blast and his left arm was heated until it also became glass and useless.

"**Curse you!**" Shukaku yelled as it began to launch air bullets toward the duo.

The dragon dodged all of the blasts and hovered in front of the demon.

"**It looks like you're in need of another arm Shukaku.**" The dragon stated with humor.

"**Oh really?**" Shukaku replied as an arm of sand erupted from the ground, smashing into the dragon and sending it backward.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked as the dragon regained its composure and once again took to the sky. Naruto didn't like that he was an invalid in this fight. He didn't see anything he could do to Shukaku.

"**Look down kid.**" The dragon replied as its red eyes narrowed.

Naruto looked at the ground and saw that Shukaku's tail was buried underground.

"**Shukaku must be using his tail to compress the minerals in the earth's crust to create more sand for him to use.**" The dragon explained.

The dragon was proven correct when several more Shukaku like arms of sand emerged from the ground; there were eight of them total.

"**I** **need a hand? It appears that I have all the help I need.**" Shukaku said with a laugh as the arms of sand flew towards Naruto and the dragon.

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Shikamaru hid in the underbrush, thinking on how to defeat Temari.

'She doesn't truly want to hurt me…I hope. So maybe I can use that.' Shikamaru thought. He didn't like that he couldn't predict Temari right now. He was sure she wouldn't kill him, but would she hurt him enough to incapacitate him?

He ran out of time for planning when a huge blast of wind blew him out of his hiding spot. Temari had found him and attacked instantly. Shikamaru was blown back into a tree with a grunt of pain.

"That hurt." Shikamaru said softly.

"Are you finally ready to fight Shikamaru?" Temari said as he landed on the branch above him. She wasn't stupid enough to get too close to him. From this angle she would be able to avoid his shadow.

"Not really. I know you don't want to fight me anymore than I want to fight you. It's all so troublesome." Shikamaru replied in a bored tone.

"I don't want to fight you." Temari admitted with her head down.

"I know, I already said that." Shikamaru replied, his tone never changing.

"But why?! Why don't I want to fight you?" Temari asked angrily. She had never been one to shy away from a fight. She enjoyed pushing herself and coming out the victor in a fight. Shikamaru had been the only person to ever truly defeat her in a contest of wills.

Shikamaru didn't reply. He simply looked at Temari for a moment. He also couldn't figure out why he didn't want to fight Temari. Normally he would chalk it up to him finding it to be too troublesome, but he knew that that wasn't the entire reason.

'This is so troublesome.' Shikamaru thought with a sigh as he walked toward Temari slowly. She had made no move after her comment. She simply stood still with her gaze turned downward. Shikamaru walked close to her, but she still made no attempt to move.

"Why don't you want to fight me?" Temari asked softly, though she didn't raise her head.

"Did you want to attack my village?" Shikamaru asked.

"No." Temari answered.

"Have you killed any leaf ninja?" Shikamaru asked.

"No I haven't." Temari replied.

"What do you want to do right now?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari didn't answer. She kept her gaze turned to the ground. Shikamaru looked at her for a moment and turned to walk away. He suddenly ducked his head as Temari's fan swung through the space his head had just been. Shikamaru turned and watched as Temari opened her fan and finally looked up from the ground.

"What do I want to do right now? I want all of this to end! I want the invasion to stop. I want the bloodshed to end. I want to leave without fighting a senseless war. I want our villages to be allies again so I won't have to fight you! But we rarely get what we want!" Temari yelled with tears in her eyes as she swung her fan and unleashed her wind attack at the unprotected shadow user.

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Shino stared at the sound jonin that was currently racing toward him. Shino had little chakra left and he had lost a good portion of his insects.

Shino watched as the jonin jumped toward him and slashed down with his sword. Shino didn't even blink; he would face death with his head held high. However, Shino was saved from death when a senbon needle hit the jonin in his arm, causing him to drop his sword. He jumped back to avoid three more needles that were thrown at him.

"Who did that?!" The jonin yelled to his underling.

"I don't know sir!" The sound ninja replied back as he stood beside his superior.

Shino knew all too well who it was and a smile appeared on his face.

'Haku-chan.' Shino thought happily as a thick mist spread over the forested area.

"What's going on sir?" The sound ninja asked with a hint of fear.

"Shut up!" The jonin replied as he looked around.

"You will pay for what you have done." Haku's voice said from somewhere in the mist. It was soft and had an echoing quality to it, chilling the sound ninja to the core.

"S-sir w-what are we going to do?" The ninja asked in fear. The mist was all encompassing and he was sure he saw shadow figures moving in the mist. He was losing his nerve and resolve and he would break soon. Haku was using Zabuza's training well.

"Calm down!" The jonin replied angrily.

"Eight deadly points to choose from. Which would you like to feel first?" Haku's voice asked calmly.

The sound ninja broke under the pressure and began to throw shuriken and kunai into the mist in a frenzy.

"I told you to calm down!" The sound jonin yelled as the sound ninja pulled out his last kunai and ran into the mist with a yell.

"You idiot!" The sound jonin yelled after his underling as he ran after the ninja. He ran through the mist looking for his subordinate. However, he stopped when the mist became so thick that he couldn't see any more than a few feet in front of him. He suddenly heard the scream of pain from his underling and knew he was alone.

"Come on then! I won't lose my nerve like that weakling." He yelled as he pulled out a kunai.

"Oh? Well that just means I can have more fun with you." Haku's voice replied sweetly, that only added a darker quality to her tone.

The jonin continued to look around, trying to pinpoint her location. He screamed in pain when two senbon went through his shoulders. His arms were useless and he finally felt the slow rising fear of this unknown, but very deadly enemy.

"You really shouldn't have hurt Shino-kun like that. It makes me angry." Haku's voice said as more senbon flew to strike the jonin in his legs, leaving them useless and causing him to drop onto his back. He stared up in pain as the mist cleared. Haku was easily skilled enough to incapacitate an enemy leaving them in little to no pain, however, Haku wanted the jonin to feel every bit of pain he could. He didn't have to wait long to see the face of his enemy. He was surprised to see that it was only a young female, barely older than the Aburame boy. However, her brown eyes were as cold as ice and showed that she, unlike the Aburame, knew what it was like to kill indiscriminately and with little remorse.

Haku looked down at the sound ninja before her. She had known Shino was in danger when his insect that she always kept with her began to buzz urgently. She had slowly come to interpret the different buzzing the insect made. She could tell that this time it was trying to alert her that something was amiss. She had come upon the defeated bodies of the first few ninja and ran full speed when she realized that Shino was outnumbered and very likely in danger. When she saw the jonin jump at him with the intent to kill him, she was frozen momentarily in fear that she would lose Shino. Shino was one of her first friends and she knew that he was slowly becoming much more than that. She couldn't lose him.

She looked down at the jonin in anger that bordered on rage. She would make him pay for trying to take Shino away from her. She calmly pulled out a scroll from the chunin vest she wore. She unsealed Zabuza's sword and saw the fear flash in the sound ninja's eyes.

"You signed your own death warrant when you attacked _my_ Shino." Haku said softly, though the venom in her voice was palpable. Haku always regretted the lives she took in battle, but this time she knew that she wouldn't. She picked up the blade and swiftly removed the ninja's head from his body. After resealing the blade she ran over to Shino.

"Shino-kun are you okay?" She asked with concern.

"I'm fine Haku-chan now that you're here." He said with relief as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"What were you thinking fighting so many opponents at once?" Haku said in anger.

"I had to stall them so that Naruto could catch up with Gaara. I hoped to ambush them, but it didn't work out very well." Shino replied as she helped him to his feet.

"Please don't do something so foolish again, Shino-kun." Haku said as tears began to build in her eyes.

"I will try Haku-chan." He said as he raised a hand to brush away the tears that began to fall. Haku leaned into the touch and stared at Shino with her true feelings visible in her eyes.

Shino saw her true feelings present and for a moment was tempted to turn away. He was not used to dealing with such emotion, but his own feelings for Haku came forth and he could do nothing but pull Haku's face toward him as he prepared to allow his emotions to rule over his mind for once.

"Hey guys!"

Haku and Shino turned to look as Ino came running up to them. Haku smiled at her, but she could also hear Shino's insects buzz with annoyance that relayed Shino's mood at blonde female ninja for interrupting them.

"What is it Ino?" Shino asked. His voice displayed his displeasure.

"Hey don't get mad at me. I just want to know where Shikamaru and Choji are." Ino replied.

"They went on ahead." Shino said as he inclined his head in the direction they had gone.

"Thanks!" Ino replied as she ran in the direction that Shino had indicated.

Shino gave a huge sigh of annoyance as he turned back to Haku. He felt a pair of lips pressed against his cheek for a moment and when his mind caught up with what had happened Haku was already walking back toward the village.

"Coming Shino-kun?" Haku asked.

"B-but." Shino began as Haku turned back and wrapped an arm around his waist to support him.

"We can discuss this later Shino. Now let's get you back to the village to get taken care of." Haku said as they began the trek back to Konoha.

'Haku-chan……kissed……me.' Shino thought in awe. He was stunned and probably wouldn't have been able to walk straight if Haku wasn't helping him. His insects were buzzing erratically at Shino's mood. He turned to look at her and was met with the same warm brown eyes that she always held for him. He felt a rush of an unknown emotion spread through his body leaving a warm feeling.

'Haku-chan, how can you make me feel these things?' Shino thought as they walked back to the village together. He would have liked to go and help Naruto and Hinata, but he knew that he would be a liability in his current state.

'Naruto, Hinata, stay safe.' Shino thought.

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Minato Namikaze was not an ordinary ninja. He was the first and only man to receive the SS class in the bingo book. He had a flee on site order which meant that if you were to see him on the battle field and he were to see you then you were already considered dead by your home village. Minato was proving the stories about him true as he decimated the leaf forces in the stadium.

Kurenai bore witness to this as she attempted to break Kakashi out of his current catatonic state. The leaf's best jonin was frozen where he sat. He didn't move, nor did he blink. He simply sat there; his eyes had a far off look to them.

"Darn it Kakashi, this isn't the time or place to shut down on us!" Kurenai yelled to no effect. She turned and saw another leaf ninja fall to the Yondaime Hokage. Minato was still not killing the leaf ninja, but the condition he left them in was enough to put them out of commission for the rest of the battle. Currently, the only ninja left able to fight consisted of Asuma, Gai, Genma, Kakashi and herself. Every other jonin, chunin and genin was knocked out.

"You'll have to better to defeat me." Minato said sadly.

"Why are you doing this Hokage-sama?!" Asuma asked.

"I have no choice. While I can restrain myself from killing you, that is the limit of my control over this body. To stop me, you'll have to kill me." Minato responded.

'Sure, all we have to do is defeat the strongest Hokage to ever hold the position. It took fighting a demon to kill him last time.' Kurenai thought in annoyance. She looked down at Kakashi, but his gaze was now stuck on the yondamie.

"S-sensei." Kakashi said softly. Kakashi's mind was stuck in his memories. Kakashi had always attempted to keep his past memories at the back of his mind so as not to be overwhelmed by the sense of loss and despair that they always brought with them. However, seeing his old sensei again had brought up all of those memories rushing back full force. He remembered Rin, Obito, his father, and countless other friends that he lost over the years. The memories of the third great ninja war that brought upon the deaths of his teammates flashed through his mind. The death of his sensei after the fight against the Kyuubi followed, and then the whole process began again. Kakashi's mind was stuck in a loop.

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Orochimaru may have been smiling before, but his smile had long sense left his face. Contrary to what he tried to show, summoning Minato Namikaze was extremely taxing on his chakra and stamina. He was currently paying for that price as the third's strikes came closer and closer. Sarutobi had been thrown into a rage when his former student had stooped so low as to resurrect the leaf's greatest hero to exact his revenge. Sarutobi swore to himself that Orochimaru would die by his hand today.

"Careful old man. You don't want to have a heart attack from all this fighting." Orochimaru said in an attempt to distract the Hokage.

"My life means little to me, as long as you join me in death!" Sarutobi said in a yell as he ducked under Orochimaru's sword slash and slammed the end of his staff into Orochimaru's chest. Sarutobi pressed his advantage and landed blow after blow onto Orochimaru.

The snake sannin jumped back and coughed up a bit of blood. He glanced at the battle down below and his smile came back.

"You may be fighting well against me, my old sensei. However the yondaime is decimating your forces."  
Orochimaru said.

Sarutobi looked toward the battle field and was shocked to see every ninja in the stadium, except for a handful, defeated. Sarutobi was about to turn his gaze back to Orochiamru when something caught his attention. He looked up and was stunned to see a ghostly figure floating above the arena. Its skin was grey, it had long hair, and dark robes. This was the shinigami. Only those who had seen the death god before would have been able to see it floating above the arena, looking down at the battle.

"Orochimaru, what did you do?" Sarutobi said in a fearful tone.

"You must know that I would never attempt a jutsu for the first time during a battle situation. I attempted to summon the yondaime before the invasion began, but to my surprise the Shinigami appeared. It asked me why it should allow me to use one of the many souls that forever reside in its stomach. I was able to barter a deal with the death god. The agreement was that Minato's soul would be allowed to be released to fight for me in exchange for the souls of all the people Minato kills or are killed because of his influence. The death god was all too happy to agree as long as it got to keep the souls." Orochimaru explained with a sneer.

"You are truly a despicable excuse for a human!" Sarutobi yelled as he attacked again. He saw Orochimaru was drained from summoning Minato and thus Sarutobi was going to take advantage.

'I have to hurry, though, before Minato deals with my greatest jonin and moves throughout the city. The third knew that should Minato leave the stadium and move into the city then all hope was lost for the leaf village.

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Kurenai watched as Gai, Asuma and Genma attacked Minato all at once. Asuma had brought out his trench knives, Gai had already unlocked the third gate, and Genma was preparing a jutsu. Minato gazed at them with the same sad eyes; however, this didn't prevent him from attacking. His speed was amazing in that he moved just as fast as Gai. He blocked a kick launched by Gai, and grabbed the limb to throw the join into the wall. However, Asuma was there and slashed at Minato with his trench knives. Minaot released Gai and moved his head to the side, avoiding the blades. However, a slash appeared on Minato's face. He looked at Asuma closely and saw that the knives were being extended with chakra.

"Very clever." Minato said as he pulled out a kunai. This kunai was special, however. It had three blades and a special seal on the handle.

Minato threw the kunai at Asuma, only for Genma to spit out his senbon to deflect the kunai to land directly in front of Asuma. However, this is exactly what Minato wanted. He disappeared in a flash of yellow and appeared directly in front of Asuma. Neither Asuma, nor Genma could do anything but stare as Minato punched Asuma in the chest sending him crashing into a wall. Minato turned and swiftly turned his head to avoid the punch Gai had launched toward him when he wasn't looking.

Kuenari turned to see if Asuma was alright and was relieved when he shakily stood to his feet. Minato was not only very fast but very strong. Their chances right now were slim. Kurenai turned to Kakashi and her concern for him dissolved into fury.

"Darn it Kakashi! I can understand that this is hard for you! But if you don't do anything than your former sensei is going to lay waste to the leaf village. Is that what you want?! You know he died to protect this entire village. Are you going to let him destroy that which he gave his life to protect?!" She yelled at the copy ninja. Kakashi didn't move, but something in his demeanor shift ever so slightly.

"You shouldn't turn your back on your opponent." Minato said softly from behind Kurenai.

Kurenai turned in swiftly to see that Genma and Gai were lying motionless on the ground. She turned back to Minato and saw that he held a swirling ball of chakra.

'Is that..?' Kurenai thought in fear at the sight of the legendary jutsu.

"**Rasengan!**" Minato yelled as he thrust the ball of chakra towards Kurenai.

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Kankuro sighed in relief when the poison gas cloud dispersed and the still body of Choji appeared. The chubby ninja had given Kankuro much more trouble than expected but the final result was the same.

"Nice try fatso." Kankuro said as he pulled crow back to examine the damage.

"Choji!"

Kankuro looked up and saw the blonde girl he had defeated in the preliminaries.

"What do you want blondie?" Kankuro asked in annoyance.

"What did you do to Choji?!" Ino yelled as she kneeled down beside her teammate.

"Don't give me that! This was a ninja battle and he put up a much better fight than you did." Kankuro said. He didn't have crow attack yet. He knew she was of little threat to him, but if she tried her mind jutsu then he would send crow in to finish them both.

Ino looked down at the still form of Choji.

'Why Choji? Why did you push yourself this far?' Ino thought to herself.

"I-Ino." Choji said softly.

"Choji!" Ino cried in relief. However, the relief quickly turned to fear and panic as he attempted to get to his feet.

"Choji stop moving!" Ino yelled.

Choji ignored her and pulled himself to his hands and knees.

"Get back Ino. I'm not finished with him yet." Choji said with a pant of exhaustion.

"You should listen to your teammate. I don't know how you are still conscious after breathing in all that poison, but you should get yourself back to your village before you keel over and die." Kankuro said. He had already won and while he could kill them both, he wanted to go see what was keeping Temari and Gaara. Also, he had gained a very small amount of respect for Choji. He had fought fiercely and had really given Kankuro a good fight.

"It's not over until I make you pay for what you did." Choji said as he shakily pulled himself to his feet.

"Choji, what could he have possibly have done to make you so upset?!" Ino yelled in anger.

"He hurt you." Choji replied softly as he rushed toward Kankuro.

'What? Choji's doing all of this because I was hurt in the third round?' Ino thought in confusion as she saw him dodge the puppet and attempt to hit Kankuro.

"**Human Bullet Tank!**" Choji yelled as he expanded in size and began to roll toward Kankuro.

Kankuro jumped away from Choji and sent crow to launch another explosive canister at the rolling genin. However, Choji quickly learned from his mistakes and swerved to the side to avoid the canister. Choji then smashed into the tree that Kankuro was in to force the puppet using ninja down. Kankuro once again jumped back into the trees.

"Come down and fight!" Choji yelled in anger as he smashed into another tree.

"There's no need. The more you move, the faster the poison will move through your body. It's only a matter of time." Kankuro said as he noticed that Choji was rolling slower than before.

"You can't win. Leave now and you may be able to save your life." Kankuro said as Choji completely stopped spinning and feel to his hands and knees.

"You should be feeling the paralyzing effects right about now. Soon your body will shut down. You really want to go this far for some girl?"Kankuro asked.

"Who are you calling some girl?! **Mind Transfer Jutsu!**" Ino yelled from behind Kankuro. He had forgotten the most crucial rule in a fight; never turn your back on a potential enemy. Kankuro cursed his stupidity as he felt himself being taken over by Ino.

"I did it!"Ino yelled from Kankuro's mouth. She turned to Choji and saw him breathing hard.

"Choji hit him now!" Ino yelled as she pulled crow back toward her.

"**Partial expansion: Arm!**" Choji yelled as his arm expanded and he brought it down toward the puppet, crushing it.

"Now Choji finish it!" Ino yelled as she left Kankuro's body. Kankuro was disoriented for a moment, but this was all the time Choji needed as Kankuro looked up and saw that Choji was rolling full speed toward him. Kankuro didn't even have time to defend himself when he was smashed by the rolling tank and sent hurtling into a tree. He didn't get up.

Choji came out of his spin and fell to the ground.

"Choji!" Ino yelled in despair as she went to him. She cradled his head in her lap and silently pleaded for him to open his eyes.

"Come on Choji wake up!" Ino yelled with surprising emotion. She didn't know why but the thought of losing Choji was too much for her to handle.

"I-Ino." Choji said softly as he opened his eyes.

"Choji!" Ino yelled in relief as she hugged him.

'Well I'll have to get poisoned more often if this keeps happening.' Choji thought.

"Nice hit." Kankuro said as he got to his feet.

Ino jumped in front of Choji. She was prepared to fight him if it came to that.

Kankuro looked at them for a moment before he reached into his pocket and threw a capsule toward Ino.

"Here's the antidote." Kankuro said as he turned and began to limp away, slowly.

"Hey wait. You really expect us to trust you?!" Ino yelled.

"My puppet is crushed and I can barely move. Trust me or not, it's up to you." Kankuro said as he began to limp in the direction that Temari had gone. Kankuro was very fortunate that the poison had weakened Choji, or else he wouldn't be moving ever again after getting hit by Choji's bullet tank. Choji had gained Kankuro's respect and thus Kankuro would show him a measure of mercy.

Ino lifted Choji's head and help him to drink the antidote. She waited for a minute to make sure that he would be okay. She was relieved to see color begin to return to his face. He slowly opened his eyes and gave Ino a tired smile.

"Thanks Ino." He said softly.

"You idiot. It should me who's thanking you." She said with tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

"Come on, let's get you back to the village." Ino said as she help Choji up and they began to walk slowly back to the village.

Choji turned his head for a moment and saw Kankuro limping away. Kankuro stopped when he felt someone's eyes on him and turned to stare back at Choji. There was a moment of silence while they measured each other. Slowly Choji nodded his head in respect and Kankuro did the same.

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Temari watched as her wind attack calmed down and she looked to see Shikamaru had been thrown back into the tree trunk. His was knocked down and his head was laying down into his chest. He looked unconscious, or dead.

Temari was unsure of what to feel. She knew she should feel content that she had defeated her opponent, but all she felt was a sharp pain in her chest at what she had done. She didn't want to hurt Shikamaru. She wanted to defeat him to prove she was the better fighter, but she certainly didn't want to hurt him.

"Shikamaru?" She said softly as she made her way toward him. He didn't move an inch.

She slowly walked over to him and checked for a pulse. She felt a fairly strong pulse and sighed in relief. She knew that she should kill him; however, she knew she would never be able to do such a thing. She turned and began to walk away. She would leave him and allow his comrades to take him back to his village. She was sick of fighting an opponent she obviously cared for, though she wouldn't admit it to anyone.

"Checkmate."

Temari found that she couldn't move. She was surprised for only a moment before a small smile appeared on her face. She should have known. She heard him get up and calmly walk around to look at her face to face. She expected his gaze to be hurt or even angry, but she was surprised to see the exact same expression on his face as he always had.

"You shouldn't turn your back on an opponent unless you know for a fact that they're finished." Shikamaru said in his usual tone as he stretched his neck.

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Temari said curiously.

Shikamaru didn't reply. He simply looked at her for a moment with a surprisingly piercing stare. It wasn't a look meant to intimidate. It seemed that he was trying to look directly into her and see her very soul.

He released his shadow bind jutsu and with a yawn he laid down on the branch to look up through the tree towards the sky.

Temari was stunned for a moment that he would release her and simply lay down, completely unprotected.

"What are you doing? Aren't you the one who said to never turn your back on an opponent?" Temari asked as she folded her fan and placed it on her back.

"You're not my opponent." Shikamaru said as he closed his eyes.

"Says who? In case you forgot, I just attacked you." Temari said as she stood over Shikamaru.

"If you really wanted to kill me, then you would have done it with that wind attack. You may have attacked me, but your heart wasn't in it, or else I wouldn't be conscious right now." Shikamaru said as he opened his black eyes to stare up into her teal eyes.

"You knew I wasn't going to try and kill you?" Temari asked.

"No really. I was fairly sure you wouldn't kill me, but I couldn't be certain. You truly are a troublesome woman." Shikamaru said as he sighed and got to his feet.

Temari watched as he turned to walk away.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Back to the village. I have a feeling that If I follow Naruto, I'll only get in his way." Shikamaru replied.

"Wait." She said softly.

Shikamaru turned to look at her for a moment. He was surprised by her tone. Temari was many things, but he never expected her to reveal her softer side to him. She was troublesome, annoying, and loud, but Shikamaru couldn't deny that he enjoyed her company. He was surprised earlier when after she attacked. He was playing possum to see what she would do. He wasn't surprised the wind attack hadn't killed him. It was obvious she didn't want to unleash it in the first place. He was surprised, however, when she check him for a pulse and softly called his name to see if he was alright.

Shikamaru was broken out of his thoughts when Temari walked up to him a pulled him into a hug. Shikamaru was rarely at a loss for words, but even his genius mind shut down at the feeling of Temari's arms around him. He slowly returned the hug and allowed the warmth that radiated from her body to comfort him.

"Next time, I'll fight seriously and I'll win lazy." She said softly with a smile as she released him. Temari wanted to kick herself for showing such weakness. She didn't know what it was but something about Shikamaru seemed to break through the emotional shields she put up around herself. The hug was a spur of the moment decision, but she didn't regret it.

"We'll see troublesome woman." He replied, though his voice was warm when he referred to her as troublesome.

Temari turned and ran in the direction that Gaara was in. Shikamaru watched her go and with a sigh about troublesome feelings, turned to begin his own trek back towards Konoha.

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Naruto could only hang on for dear life as the dragon attempted to maneuver around the eight arms of sand that were attempting to ensnare them. The arms moved incredibly fast for being so large and Naruto knew that they were just as powerful when he saw a few trees get uprooted or smashed to splinters when hit by the arms of sand. Shukaku meanwhile was laughing in delight at the prospect of killing the dragon as well as the kyuubi container.

The dragon dived under one arm and turned to unleash a blast of fire at the limb, turning it to glass. Two more arms attempted to hit the dragon in the back, but it flew high into the sky and likewise turned them into glass with two well placed fire balls. Shukaku growled in anger at having three of his arms turned to glass, but his mood changed when an arm moved quickly enough to hit the dragon in the chest, knocking it back and nearly grounding the great beast.

Before the dragon could right itself, four of the remaining arms wrapped around the arms and legs of the dragon, keeping it suspended in the air. The fifth and final arm began to pummel the dragon in the chest and face.

Naruto would stand for this and launched a dragon strike to destroy the arm. Shukaku, undeterred by Naruto's interference, launched multiple air bullets in quick succession into the dragon. The dragon roared in pain at the continuous bursts of wind.

"**Ha! You've gotten soft in the centuries that you and your kind disappeared from this plane!**" Shukaku said with a smile as the seemingly strapped and beaten dragon.

The dragon let loose an earth shaking roar as the red jewel on its forehead brightened.

"Kid get off now!" The dragon roared. Naruto was quick to comply and as soon as he jumped to the tree nearest to him, the dragon's entire body erupted into flames. The arms of sand holding it were turned to glass and quickly shattered by the flaming dragon.

"**You talk too much! Now witness you defeat! Dragon Inferno!**" The dragon roared as all of the flames covering its body flowed into its wings and mouth and with a mighty flap of its wing a huge blast of fire erupted from each wing and its mouth. The three blasts morphed in mid air and took on the form of a serpentine dragon and slammed into Shukaku. The sand demon roared in pain and agony as the flames spiraled all around it in a cyclone of fire that flew miles into the air, easily seen from many miles away.

Naruto could only watch on in awe at the power the dragon displayed. He was snapped out of it when he saw the dragon land for him to get back on. Once on its head, Naruto looked over as the flames died down. Shukaku's body was completely turned into solid glass.

"Hey is he?" Naruto began.

"**It takes much more than that to kill Shukaku. The container is alive inside of that thing, but he is probably running out of air.** **You better hurry up and get the kid out before he suffocates, or before Shukaku is able to break through the glass.**" The dragon said. The glass Shukaku began to shake.

Naruto acted quickly and jumped off of the dragon's head.

"**Dragon Strike!**" Naruto yelled. The golden blast of chakra smashed into Shukaku's head and created a break in the glass. When Naruto landed on the head he say that only the outside of Shukaku was glass, underneath a few feet of glass remained the sand demon, it simply was immobilized for the moment. Naruto reached in the broken glass and the sand underneath to grab Gaara's body. He pulled with all of his strength and attempted to pry Gaara's body out of the sand, however, he was running out of time as more and more of the glass that covered Shukaku's body was shattering off as the demon attempted to regain movement. The sand Gaara was in wasn't releasing him easily and Naruto knew he was running out of time.

"This would go a lot easier if you were awake!" Naruto said as he released on of his hands to slam Gaara in the head. Gaara awakened to stare up into Naruto's face with a look of disbelief.

"**NOOOO! I was just starting to have some fun!**" Shukaku yelled as his consciousness left the sand body and the sand body began to disintegrate.

'That's one problem down.' Naruto thought.

"Kill me." Gaara said.

"What?" Naruto said as he once again tried to pull Gaara out of the sand, however, while Shukaku's consciousness was back inside of Gaara, the sand continued to try and pull Gaara underneath it as the huge body of sand continued to break apart.

"You have beaten me. My existence is over if I can't defeat you. Kill me, as my life is no longer of any importance." Gaara said completely serious.

"You're not going to die here Gaara, no one's life is of no importance as long as they have things precious to them!" Naruto said with a yell as he pulled Gaara's body out of the sand.

Naruto jumped down to the ground with Gaara in his arms. He placed the exhausted sand ninja on the ground.

"Why won't you kill me?" Gaara asked in confusion.

"You and I are very similar Gaara. I went through the exact same things you went through in life. Well except for the assassination attempts. If I hadn't found my precious people, then I could have ended up like you. Alone, angry at the world, bloodthirsty and willing to cause pain to those that scorned me. However, I found my precious people. They kept the darkness away and I found my worth and existence through my oath to always protect them. Find someone that is precious to you Gaara, and then you will find true strength and a reason to exist." Naruto said calmly.

Gaara looked up at Naruto and saw the strength he held.

'That's why he's strong? He fights for others. Is that true strength?' Gaara thought as Temari and Kankuro appeared.

"Gaara!" They yelled in unison as they helped their younger brother up.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned and saw Hinata running up to him. He smiled in relief as he wrapped her into a hug. Gaara observed all of this with a critical eye as he turned to his siblings.

"Kankuro, Temari, I'm sorry. Let's go." Gaara said softly. Temari and Kankuro were shocked by Gaara's words, but simply nodded their heads and helped their brother walk away.

After they left, Naruto fell to his knees in exhaustion. Hinata knelt beside him to see if he was okay.

"I'm okay Hinata-chan, just tired." Naruto said in an attempt to reassure her.

"**I'm not surprised.**"

Naruto and Hinata looked up as the dragon landed in front of them. Hinata's eyes widened in awe at the giant legendary creature.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan. He came to help me." Naruto said in a calming tone to settle her down.

"O-oh, thank you then Dragon-sama." Hinata said with a small bow. Naruto bowed as well.

"**You are very welcome and call me Drac.**" The dragon said to the duo.

"I have a question. Why are you red? I mean my sword is white and gold and the dragon strike is always gold in color." Naruto asked.

"**There are many dragons kid. I happen to be the one who lords over fire. Once you learn to use the beacon, you'll be able to summon a specific dragon depending on the situation. The golden dragon is the Dragon lord and reigns over all of us.**" Drac explained.

"**Hey kid I have a question for you now. Why did you save the Shukaku's container? You could have let him die and saved yourself the trouble and danger of trying to save him.**" Drac asked with a critical look in his eyes.

"Maybe, but Gaara deserved to live. It's not his fault his life was so screwed up. Sure I could have killed him, but that would be because I just didn't want to deal with trying to help him. I'll never do something like that. I plan to be the Hokage of the leaf village, thus I must take the time to help every person who needs help, whether they be of the leaf village or another village. I won't take the easy way out and if that's how you work then I'm sorry but I won't be needing your assistance anymore." Naruto said with conviction in his eyes.

"**Very well said kid. You are worthy to wield the beacon it seems.**" Drac said with a small bow of respect. Suddenly he turned his head toward Konoha and gave a low snarl.

"What's wrong Drac-sama?" Hinata asked softly. Being in the presence of a dragon was enough to humble her about her own strength greatly.

"Climb onto me you two." Drac replied sharply as he knelt to the ground. Naruto and Hinata were confused about his abruptness, but nonetheless complied.

"**Hang on!**" Drac said as he flew full speed in the direction of Konoha.

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Minato looked down at the arm that was currently stopping him from slamming the rasengan into Kurenai's chest. The hand belonged to Kakashi. He was looking at his sensei with sadness as well as conviction.

"I won't allow you to continue to hurt those you care for so much Minato-sensei." Kakashi said as she stood up beside Kurenai.

"Good, I'm glad to see the will of fire hasn't left you my former pupil." Minato said as he snatched his hand back and jumped back to avoid the fireball that Asuma launched at his unprotected side.

"It's about time you rejoined us Kakashi." Kurenai said with annoyance, as well as relief.

"Sorry about that." Kakashi said as he prepared himself.

"Well at least our chances go from nonexistent to slim with you Kakashi." Asuma said.

Suddenly Gai and Genma both jumped beside their comrades.

"Yondiame-sama's flames of youth are truly powerful." Gai said as he winced and held his side.

"For once I agree with you Gai." Genma said as he held his left arm.

"Well we're all that's left so stop complaining and get ready to fight." Kurenai said as Minato pulled out more tri pronged kunai and scattered them throughout the arena floor.

"Prepare yourselves." Minato said as he created a rasengan in each hand.

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**Here's chapter 26. Naruto has emerged victories, but now races back to face his father. Kakashi has pulled himself together, but now must face his old sensei. How will all of this end? You'll have to wait and see. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**Revelations**

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"Kakashi any advice on how to take him down?" Genma asked the jonin.

"Not really. He did single-handedly destroy the rock ninja army during the third great ninja war." Kakashi replied in a serious tone as he looked at his old sensei.

"So what are we going to do?" Asuma asked in exasperation.

"You better figure it out soon." Minato said from behind Asuma.

All of the jonin turned around in time to see Asuma take a rasengan to the chest. The chronic smoker had no chance to do anything but yell in pain as he was sent crashing into the stadium wall. He didn't get up.

"Asuma!" Genma yelled as he rushed toward him.

"No Genma don't!" Kurenai yelled. However it was far too late. As Genma ran towards Asuma's still form he ran past one of Minato's special kunai. Minato appeared before him and slammed his second rasengan into the unsuspecting jonin's chest. Genma was thrown across the stadium and was also out of the fight.

"Be conscious of the kunai!" Kakashi yelled to Kurenai and Gai as all three turned back to back.

"That's easier said than done." Kurenai said as they all watched as Minato appeared and disappeared all throughout the arena floor. Things were not looking good. In a matter of seconds they had lost two of their allies. The only positive they had was that Kakashi and Kurenai hadn't fought Minato as of yet and thus were in better shape than Asuma and Genma were in.

"**Ninja art: Great breakthrough jutsu**!" Kakashi yelled as he unleashed the gale force winds of the technique. The high velocity winds blew through the stadium, blowing away all of the special kunai that were currently resting ideally on the ground.

"That should help a little." Kakashi said as Minato appeared a few feet in front of them.

"Good Kakashi. I'm glad you finally came to your senses." Minato said with a smile. Very few had ever seen his flying thunder god technique and lived to tell the tale. However, since Kakashi was his former pupil, he knew about the technique and the correct way to counter it.

"Be mindful as you fight him. The kunai may be blown away, but he can easily reuse them if he gets a hold of them." Kakashi warned his fellow jonin.

"Understood." Gai and Kurenai said as all three ran to attack Minato.

Gai opened four of the eight gates and attack the former Hokage with vicious strikes of power and speed. As Gai did this, Kurenai prepared a genjustu to catch Minato, should Gai fail, or should the opportunity present itself. Kakashi stood back and readied himself for a fight he knew would be the most difficult he had ever had to participate in. It would tax him both mentally as well as physically.

Minato and Gai were just blurs to Kurenai, but Kakashi could catch quick glimpses of them with his sharingan eye. He could see that Gai was not faring well. Gai had the power and speed to match Minato, but he was feeling the strain of the continuous use of the gates and was beginning to slow down. He would not go down easily, though as he landed a harsh punch to Minato face. Minato was thrown back into the stadium wall where Kakashi swiftly followed up Gai's opening.

"**Fire style: Giant Fireball Jutsu!**" Kakshi yelled as he launched the large ball of fire toward the form of his former sensei.

"Did you get him?" Gai asked as he appeared beside Kakashi.

"Probably not." Kakashi replied as he gazed at his fellow leaf ninja. Gai was someone who always had a smile on his face, no matter what the odds of battle, however, Kakashi could tell that he was running out of power and would be risking his life should he continue to use the gates power.

"Just give me one opening and I can immobilize him for you to finish off Kakashi." Kureani said as she appeared beside the heavily breathing Gai.

Kakashi wasn't able to answer as they all saw the flames of Kakashi's attack disperse and a slightly burned, but otherwise intact, Minato standing in front of them.

"A ninja who can last this long while using the eight gates. Konoha really has gotten stronger hasn't it?" Minato commented with a sad smile.

"What does it take to take him down?" Gai asked in exasperation.

"You wouldn't happen to have a demon lord available would you?" Kurenai asked sarcastically.

"Enough chatter! Here he comes." Kakashi said as Minato rushed toward them and attacked. The three jonin separated, but Minato created two shadow clones to attack Kakashi and Gai. Minato went after Kurenai, as he felt she was the one whose abilities he had yet to see.

"Kurenai look out!" Kakashi said as he attempted to help her. He knew that against a regular jonin she would be okay, but Minato was far from a regular jonin. However, Kakashi was halted by one of Minato's shadow clones.

Kakashi lashed out with his left leg in an attempt to defeat the clone. The clone jumped over the attack and attempted a punch toward Kakashi's head. Kakashi grabbed the limb and tossed the clone toward the remaining embers of his fire attack. Kakashi then ran toward Kurenai to help her against his former sensei.

The clone that Kakashi had thrown was far from beaten. It quickly righted itself before it could be burnt and dashed toward Kakashi's unprotected back. However, the clone was intercepted by Gai. He grabbed the clone and pulled it away from the copy ninja. Gai released the clone and returned to his iron fist stance. The clone he had been fighting appeared behind him. Gai looked at the two opponents and came to a decision.

'Kakashi, Kurenai it's up to you two to defeat him.' Gai thought as the clones rushed in to attack him. Gai opened the sixth gate. He jumped quickly to avoid the two sided attack and landed behind one of the clones. He punched the clone in the back and then quickly followed up with a swift kick to the other clones' chest. As the two clones where throw backward, Gai appeared behind them and focused his remaining power to land two devastating kicks to the torsos of the clones, dispelling both. Gai landed and released the power of the gates. He attempted to aid Kakashi and Kurenai, however, Gai had reached the limit of his strength and fell to the ground in exhaustion. Kurenai and Kakashi were the two remaining leaf ninja that stood against Minato.

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Hinata was not sure whether she wanted to laugh in excitement or scream in terror as she and Naruto held onto Drac. He seemed completely focused on getting back to Konoha as fast as possible. Hinata looked at Naruto to see how he was doing and saw that he was still breathing heavily.

"Naruto-kun are you okay?" Hinata asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay Hinata-chan. I'm just tired." He said with a smile of reassurance. The day had been long and draining on Naruto. Using demonic and divine chakra may have given him temporary boosts in chakra, but his own reserves were still dangerously low.

"Drac-sama why are you in such a rush?" Hinata asked as she tried to keep her lunch down.

Drac didn't answer in words; he simply let out another angered growl.

Naruto caught Hinata's gaze and gave a simple shrug at the dragon's sudden demeanor. Both could now see the village gates. They were both saddened to see the once mighty gates had a very large section broken down. They could see smoke coming from various parts of the village and bodies were everywhere.

'This is horrible.' Both genin thought. Surprisingly, Drac did slow down when he began to approach the arena.

"Hey Drac, why are we stopping here?" Naruto asked the dragon.

"**See for yourself.**" Drac answered, though his eyes were focused on something they couldn't see.

Naruto and Hinata looked into the arena and were shocked by all of the leaf ninja that were lying motionless on the ground. They could see that Kurenai and Kakashi were fighting some unknown enemy and further inspection showed the Hokage in a barrier fighting Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru!" Naruto yelled in a snarl of anger.

"We have to help Kurenai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei, Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"I know. Hey Drac I have a favor to ask of you." Naruto said.

"**Oh and what might that be?**" The dragon of fire asked.

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Sarutobi was feeling his age. He was blessed to have survived so long as the life expectancy for ninja was not very kind. He had been through many battles before he became the sensei of Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jirayia. He had trained them the best he had known how, but it had ended in failure. Orochimaru had become one of the most dangerous threats to the village. Tsunade had left and had said that she wanted nothing more to do with it. Jirayia was the only one whom Sarutobi could still call on for assistance and even he rarely wanted to stay in the village for long periods of time. Sarutobi had retired and handed the mantle over to the fourth. However, after that fateful day that the Kyuubi had attack, Sarutobi was once again placed as the acting Hokage. He had made many mistakes during his reign as Hokage and the largest of those mistakes was staring him in the face.

"You won't be able to fight for very much longer Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru said with a snake like smile.

"That may be, but you are also running low on energy. You are a fool to think that you could give up so much energy to summon Minato and still defeat me." Sarutobi said as he took his staff and threw it toward Orochimaru. The snake sannin dodged, just as Sarutobi wanted. Enma released his staff form and he and Sarutobi began to make hand signs.

"I told you that you would die by my hands Orochimaru and I will now show you a technique you have never before seen!" Sarutobi said as he and Enma finished their hand signs.

"**Ninja art: Judgment of the Monkey King!**" Both Sarutobi and Enma yelled as the same time. Suddenly the ground in front of them erupted and all of the displaced earth combined in the air to take the form of a giant ape. The ape released a roar of anger and swung its fist toward Orochimaru. Orochimaru jumped out of the way, only to be faced with the giant ape. Orochimaru could only widen his eyes at the speed of the figure as it slammed him into the ground with a fist.

Orochimaru jumped up and attempted to slash the arm of the ape. However the ape jumped backward and avoided the attack. It then jumped and smashed Orochimaru in the chest with a powerful front kick. Orochimaru could feel one or two of his ribs break under the force.

'What manner of creature is this?' Orochimaru thought as he tried to regain his composure. He avoided the ape's secondary blow and slashed its arm off. The ape growled as the arm suddenly regrew.

"What?" Orochimaru asked as he avoided the ape's attacks and attempted to but himself some time. He looked over to Sarutobi and saw that the old ninja was sitting down with his hands in a special seal. Sarutobi's eyes were closed and he seemed to be in deep concentration. Orochimaru avoided another of the ape's blows and saw that Enma was in the same position.

Orochimaru threw his sword at Sarutobi and saw that the old ninja's eyes instantly opened and the ape jumped down to grab the thrown blade. The ape threw the sword away and attacked Orochimaru again.

'Why would the ape have to protect sensei? He could have easily jumped out of the way, but he didn't. That must be the flaw of this technique." Orochimaru thought. However, the ape took advantage of Orochimaru's distracted state and wrapped its large hands around Orochimaru's neck. The snake sannin began to chock as the ape's hands squeezed the life out of him. He knew that he had to act quickly. He twitched his hand and his sword rose in the air behind Sarutobi.

"Sarutobi look out." Enma yelled from his position. Sarutobi noticed the sword behind him, but made no move to avoid it. The sword flew toward Sarutobi and pierced the old ninja through the chest.

"Sarutobi!" Enma yelled as he jumped up to help him. As soon as he moved, the ape's hands stopped squeezing his neck. While it didn't release him, it also didn't move.

"Enma get back! This is the only chance we have to kill him now!" Sarutobi said as he coughed up a bit of blood. The technique he and Enma were currently using was one of their most powerful. An ape made of solid earth would form and battle any enemy they wanted. The ape was impervious to damage and was very strong and fast. However, this technique had a few drawbacks. It was very draining on Sarutobi and Enma and the ape's strength would diminish over time if the technique was used to often. Also, the technique required the casters to remain stationary as they continued to feed their chakra to the best.

However, Sarutobi's command came too late. The ape had stop just short of crushing Orochimaru's throat and the snake ninja used his own impressive strength to break one of the arms of the beast. He jumped back and took deep, ragged breaths. While his throat hadn't been crushed, it had come very close and Orochimaru was having a hard time breathing.

"That was far too close Sarutobi." Orochimaru said. He was very low on chakra, he had a few broken ribs, and his throat was very badly damaged. All in all he was not going to be able to fight for very much longer. Orochimaru called his sword and the blade extracted itself from Sarutobi's chest.

"I will finish you now!" Orochimaru yelled as he rushed toward the injured ninja. Enma jumped in the way, but Orochimaru sidestepped the summoned creature and launched a myriad of snakes to immobilize Enma as they wrapped around him.

Sarutobi could only watch as Orochimaru pulled his arms back to finish the old man off.

"**Dragon's fire!**"

A blast of fire burst through the barrier and hit both of Orochimaru's arms as he swung the sword down to kill Sarutobi. Orochimaru yelled in agony as he felt his arms burn. He jumped back as the flames continued to burn his arms. They now hung by his sides blackened and useless.

"Who did that?" Orochimaru questioned as his sound four jumped around him.

All looked up and were shocked to see a huge red dragon hovering above them. On top of its head stood Naruto and Hinata. Both jumped off in opposite directions, Naruto toward the battle field, and Hinata toward some of the downed ninja.

'That boy!' Orochimaru thought in fury.

"We're leaving!" Orochimaru said as his four body guards nodded in acknowledgement.

"You aren't going to get away." Sarutobi said as he held his wound. He didn't care if he died as long as Orochimaru died with him. However, the sword had pierced his lung and Orochimaru's sword was very poisonous. Unless he got medical attention soon, Sarutobi would die from his wounds.

"You may not care about your own death old man, but what about the Kyuubi-brat?" Orochimaru said through his pain.

Sarutobi looked down toward the arena and saw that Naruto was going to try and help Kakashi and Kurenai.

'No!' Sarutobi thought as he limped toward the battle.

Orochimaru took this moment to disappear with his four bodyguards.

'This isn't over! I promise to kill that brat the next time I see him.' Orochimaru thought as he left the battle field.

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Both Kakashi and Kurenai were completely exhausted. They had given their all and had fought admirably. Minato was hosting various wounds that showed their skill as jonin. However, Minato's chakra was limitless since his summoning, while the same could not be said for Kurenai and Kakashi.

"You two are very powerful, but it's not enough." Minato said sadly as he created a rasengan.

Kakashi and Kurenai looked at each other.

"Got any bright ideas?" Kurenai asked.

"Not really. I can only make one more lightning blade before I'm completely spent." Kakashi said.

"And I can only use one more of my more powerful genjustus before I'm finished." Kurenai said with a short laugh.

They both then looked up into the sky and saw a large red dragon hovering in the air.

"What the heck?!" Kurenai yelled.

"Well that appears to be a dragon." Kakashi said in his normal tone, though his gaze was disbelieving.

"Aren't you surprised at all?" Kurenai asked in disbelief at his seemingly nonchalant attitude.

"Completely surprised, but it doesn't currently change or predicament." Kakashi said.

"Too true." Minato said from behind them.

They turned swiftly, but it was too late. Minato hit Kurenai in the chest with a devastating kick that sent her flying back toward the arena wall. However, Kakashi was there and caught her before she could make impact.

Kakashi looked toward Minato and saw that while they had been looking at the dragon, he had thrown another of his special kunai and used the flying thunder god technique to hit Kurenai in their blind spot.

'We shouldn't have let our guard down.' Kakashi thought as he slowly laid Kurenai down. She was still conscious, but the last blow had certainly broken a rib or tow.

"Sorry Kakashi." Kurenai said weakly.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine." He said in a soft tone with a smile.

"You better be, or you can forget about that three course dinner." Kurenai said with a soft smile in return as she slowly lost consciousness.

"Looks like it's just you and me Kakashi." Minato said as he walked toward Kakashi.

"So it is sensei." Kakashi replied.

"You've grown very strong Kakashi, but it won't be enough." Minato replied as he formed a rasengan.

'This is not good. I can only create one more lightning blade and it's the only thing I can use to combat sensei's rasengan.' Kaksahi thought as Minato rushed in to attack.

"**Rasengan!**" Minato yelled as he thrust the spiraling sphere of chakra toward Kakashi, Kakashi moved at the last possible moment to avoid the blow and attempted to kick Minato in the back. Minato ducked under the blow and punched Kakashi in the face. Kakashi did a series of back flips to separate them.

'What am I going to do?' Kakashi thought in annoyance. He knew that if he could only get one opening then he could end this fight with a single strike to Minato's chest. The earlier combat had showed that Minato did indeed take physical damage like a regular human, but the only way to stop him would be to land a killing blow. Considering that an entire army of rock ninja were unable to do such a task didn't help Kakashi's chances.

'I need an edge.' Kakashi thought as Minato prepared to attack again.

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Naruto watched as Kakashi fought against the strange ninja in the white cloak. He looked oddly familiar to Naruto, but his identity wasn't his concern at the moment. He had seen him take out Kurenai and Naruto was currently thinking of the best way to help Kakashi. Naruto had no illusions about his strength. If this enemy could defeat Kurenai, and all of the other ninja in the arena, then Naruto knew he was in a lot of trouble. It didn't help matters that he was very low on chakra. His body was very weary after the day's continuous fights and he knew he would only have one real shot in at least distracting the enemy. Naruto knew that if he could catch him by surprise then he may be able to cause him some damage.

'Well here's goes nothing.' Naruto thought as he ran to attack the enemy. Naruto got a few feet behind the enemy before he turned swiftly and kicked Naruto in the chest. Naruto's pained cry was halted as his breath left his body. He was thrown backward and rolled on the ground. He stood slightly as he tried to catch his breath. Naruto saw Kakashi look at him with a horrified expression.

Before Kakashi could saw anything Minato appeared in front of Naruto. Both were temporarily stunned by the other's appearance.

'He looks like me.' Naruto thought for a moment. However, naruto shook this off as he quickly went through hand signs.

"**Ninja art: Piercing Shadow Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled.

Minato was shocked by the young blonde's appearance. He looked exactly like him. Minato's thoughts were interrupted when Naruto finished his hand signs and Minato was surrounded by a dome of complete darkness. Minato looked around but could see nothing.

'Then again, a true shinobi doesn't need his sight.' Minato thought as he closed his eyes. He ducked his head to avoid the sword strike Naruto had attempted to land on his blinded opponent.

'That's not good!' Naruto thought as he attacked again. He knew that he only had a few more seconds before his jutsu wore off. The Piercing Shadow technique only lasted as long as he had chakra to give it. Naruto quickly attacked to try and land a blow on Minato. However, Minato continued to dodge the strikes as if he could actually see. Minato relied on his sense of hearing to avoid Naruto's attacks.

'Now it's time to end this.' Minato thought as he waited and swiftly thrust his fist to the left. He felt his fist connect with Naruto. Naruto was thrown back as his jutsu began to fade away.

Minato noticed that his eye-sight was returning. Not wanting to give his opponent time to regroup, Minato quickly created a rasengan and moved to defeat the strange genin swiftly. He ran in the direction that he heard the young ninja fall in and thrust his rasengan outward to incapacitate the ninja. He felt the rasengan connect solidly, but was confused when he felt the technique continue to drill into his opponent. The rasengan was created by rotating large amounts of chakra in his hand and concentrating the chakra into a sphere. When it hit an opponent, they would normally be blown back by the sheer momentum of the attack. For his rasengan to continue to drill in an opponent, meant the opponent was stationary and could not move backward.

Minato's eye-sight completely cleared and he saw the person that had been struck by his rasengan. He was shocked to see Sarutobi was the one who had been hit by his technique. Minato's eyes widened in horror as he saw that the reason Sarutobi hadn't been blasted backward was because the veteran ninja had grabbed a hold of Minato's hand, thus causing the technique to continue to drill into his chest. Minato could see the young ninja on the ground behind Sarutobi with the same horror evident in his eyes.

"Sarutobi….why?" Minato asked even as he body attempted to pull its arm back.

"I couldn't let you hurt Naruto." Sarutobi said as he coughed up a large amount of blood, though he didn't release Minato.

"N-Naruto?" Minato said as he looked at the young ninja and finally got a good look at him. He had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Minato. The boy looked almost exactly like his father.

"My…..son….Naruto." Minato said with unbelieving eyes.

'S-son?' Naruto thought in confusion. He looked at the ninja before him and finally realized that he had been fighting the fourth Hokage.

'I'm…his son?' Naruto thought in disbelief.

Minato was also in disbelief. His body was still trying to draw its hand back to continue to attack, but Minato's mind and spirit were completely against the idea. He was frozen at the revelation that his own son was staring him in the face.

"Naruto." Minato said softly.

All present parties were shocked when a lightning encased fist erupted through Minato's chest, right where his heart was. Kakashi was the culprit. He stood behind his former sensei with his head held down.

"I'm so sorry, Minato-sensei." Kakashi said sadly as he withdrew his arm.

"No Kakashi. I'm glad you did it. Now I no longer have to fight against the village I worked so hard to protect." Minato said as he fell to his knees. Sarutobi let go of his hand and feel to the ground as well.

"Old man!" Naruto yelled as he rushed to his side.

"Naruto it's okay." Sarutobi said as his eyes began to close. Orochimaru's poison as well as Minato's rasengan had been too much for his old body. Sarutobi was dying.

"Get up, this isn't funny. You'll be okay right?" Naruto asked the man that was like a grandfather to him.

"Not this time young one. Don't cry for me Naruto. I am happy to have lived as long as I did." Sarutobi said as his eyes began to close.

"NO! You can't die." Naruto said as tears began to fall from his eyes. Naruto looked toward Minato's downed body and felt rage beginning to take him.

'**Kill him! Destroy him!**' Naruto heard from the depths of his consciousness as he felt kyuubi's power enveloping him.

"Naruto….stop." Sarutobi said softly.

Naruto's rage dissipated at the old man's words as he turned his gaze toward him.

"Why should I? I don't care who he is. He attacked our village and it's his fault you're like this." Naruto said in anger.

"It's not his fault. Your father loves this village with everything that he is. He was forced to commit these sins by Orochimaru." Sarutobi said softly as anbu appeared around Sarutobi in an attempt to help the old leader.

Naruto looked toward Minato, who had refrained from saying anything.

"You, you're my father?" Naruto asked softly, still not sure that he believed the information.

"I am Naruto." Minato said as he too felt his body failing him. He had hated every moment since he had been summoned. He wanted desperately for someone to kill him and end his destructive attack. He felt it very ironic that now he wanted nothing more than a few more minutes to talk with his son.

Naruto looked toward Kakashi and could see from the copy ninja's face that Minato spoke the truth.

"Why." Naruto asked softly to no one in particular.

All three of the older ninja knew what his question was pertaining too. He wanted to know why he had been chosen to have the fox sealed inside of him.

"Because, there was no other way." Minato said as his eyes began to close.

"You are so much like your mother Naruto." Minato said softly as his eyes closed. He wanted more time with his son, but his artificial body was at its limit and began to disintegrate.

"Wait!" Naruto yelled in desperation as he ran toward Minato's body.

"I'm sorry you had to learn about your burden this way Naruto. Know that you were always loved and your mother and I were truly looking forward to a happy life together." Minato said as he found the strength to open his eyes briefly.

"D-dad." Naruto said softly for the first time in his life. He had only known him for a few moments, but Naruto could already feel his eyes welling up with tears over Minato's immanent passing.

"Grow strong Naruto. The future……. is in………….. your hands." Minato said softly as his eyes full closed and his body disappeared into dust. A single sphere of light, representing Minato's soul began to float upward.

Naruto wiped his eyes in an attempt to restrain his tears, before he remembered that Minato was not the only one near death.

"Old man!" Naruto yelled as he ran toward him. Kakashi had approached the old ninja to allow Naruto and Minato a moment to talk between themselves.

"Kakashi-sensei, please tell me he'll be okay!" Naruto pleaded.

Kakashi could do nothing more than lower his head and avoid the distraught genin's gaze.

"No." Naruto said softly as he slowly approached Sarutobi. The anbu had stepped away for there was nothing they could do. They simply looked on as Naruto walked over to Sarutobi and crouched beside him. Sarutobi opened his eyes slightly and indicated that Naruto should come closer.

"Naruto..listen carefully." Sarutobi said as he whispered into Naruto's ear. Naruto's eyes widened in shock as Sarutobi's eyes closed and his body fell still.

The Third Hokage, "professor" of the leaf village, was dead.

Naruto could feel his heart breaking. He had lost not only a father but a grandfather this day. Hinata jumped down beside him and wrapped her arms around the blonde ninja. Naruto went rigid for only a moment before he broke down and pulled Hinata in a crushing hug as he sobbed.

Kakashi felt the same as Naruto, but refrained from showing it at the time. He looked around and saw many shinobi finally coming into the stadium. It seemed that the invasion had been stopped. However, Kakashi could tell by the solemn expression on every shinobi's face as they saw the body of the third that the leaf had much recovering to do. Kakashi looked up to the sky and saw that the sphere representing Minato's spirit was still floating around. Kakashi disregarded the sphere, hoping that it would pass over to the other world peacefully. He had to focus on the here and now. He was sure that he would forever have nightmares about his killing his sensei. However, he couldn't dwell on that now. He had to be strong, there would come a time for mourning later.

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The death god witnessed Minato Namikaze's defeat. I couldn't help but feel angered that it wouldn't get anymore souls today. Contrary to what many believed, the shinigami couldn't take every soul that died. Its job was to shepherd them to their final resting place. However, should any mortal make a deal to the shinigami, then their soul would forever remain in the shinigami's stomach in a state of constant battle and torment. It had been looking forward to receiving more souls after agreeing with Orochimaru. It did plan to take revenge on the snake sannin, now that the shinigami realized that it would be getting no new souls this day. Minato had refrained from killing any ninja. The third was already dying from Orochimaru's poison and thus his death wasn't by Minato's hands. The shinigami rarely felt human emotions, but it would describe its current mood as annoyed.

'**I will have to punish that snake when his time comes.**' The shinigami thought as it reached out to grab Minato's soul.

"**Halt!**" Drac roared as he appeared in front of the shinigami. Drac was communicating to the shinigami telepathically as he didn't want the humans to hear the coming argument. Most of the ninja were busy with helping their injured comrades to pay the dragon much attention. While many were shocked by Drac's appearance, they decided that he wasn't hostile and assumed they would figure the dragon's presence out later. That Drac was seen to be simply hovering in the air to anyone who looked at him, made many assume the dragon was awaiting a command from whoever had summoned it.

"**What do you want dragon?**" The shinigami asked in a tone that could be considered annoyed.

"**You will not be taking his soul.**" Drac sent back.

"**You forget your place Dragon! I made a deal with that human and his soul has been mine for thirteen years. Who are you to command me?!**" The shinigami said.

"**Hold your tongue!**" Drac roared in an infuriated tone.

"**You forget your place Shinigami! My master has decided that Minato Namikaze's actions have warranted a much better fate than what would befall him should you take him again.**" Drac said.

"**We had a deal.**" The shinigami hissed in rage.

"**That deal has been broken. Now release Minato Namikaze to take his rightful resting place in heaven.**" Drac said in a tone that left no argument.

"**You will regret this dragon!**" The shinigami said as he released Minato's soul. The shinigami then vanished.

'**We will see about that shinigami.**' Drac thought as Minato's soul floated beside him.

"**Your son is very special.**" Drac said to the soul. Minato's soul took the deceased Hokage's form for a moment and smiled sadly down at his son.

"I know. Please look after him." Minato said as he floated upward to finally be reunited with his loved ones that died before him.

Drac watched the former hokage disappear and looked down at Naruto's weeping form. It began to rain and Drac looked upward.

'**Do you weep for him as well Kami-sama?**' Drac thought as he began to disappear in a bright flash of light. Drac knew that Naruto was in no condition to handle the topics that would have to be addressed later.

"**Till next time Naruto.**" Drac said loudly, gaining the attention of said ninja as well as every other ninja in the village.

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Naruto looked up at the sound of Drac's voice and watched as Drac disappeared in a flash of light. Naruto could feel every ninja's gaze land on him in confusion, but Naruto ignored them. His gaze returned to the still form of the man that had been a grandfather to him for his entire life.

Unseen by every ninja, stood a single figure in the crowd. He was covered from head to toe in a black robe.

'I know this is hard Naruto, but you must overcome. Things will only get harder from here.' The mysterious man thought sadly as he disappeared.

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**Here's chapter 27. Finally the invasion is over! Before I get a lot of angry reviews about Minato's death let me explain. Just as the seal's absence made it possible for Minato to avoid killing the leaf ninja, so the lack of the seal took away his ability to survive from any hit. **

**So Sarutobi has died. Naruto knows that Minato is his father, and the leaf has won the war. What will happen next time? That is to be revealed! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

**1000 reviews….I reached 1000 reviews last chapter. To all my readers and the people who have supported me since I began to write on this site, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I never thought this story would be so popular. It almost makes me want to cry…..almost. Now on to the story!**

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It was a dark and rainy day in the leaf village. The day was appropriate with the mood the village found itself in. Every inhabitant, from the youngest child to the oldest elder, was dressed in black and walking toward the ceremony for the Third Hokage. The fallen leader's body was currently resting in a coffin that held the last picture of him on the top. The citizens of Konoha surrounded the coffin, all with flowers in their hands. One by one, they all walked up to the coffin and placed their flower on the coffin.

Naruto stood beside Hinata as they began to lower the coffin into the ground. Sarutobi would forever be at rest in the burial grounds that held all of the past Hokages.

'Why old man. Why would you do that for me?' Naruto thought with sadness evident on his face. His emotions were completely torn apart. He finally found out the identity of his father, only for said father to die the exact day that his identify was revealed. If that wasn't enough, his father had been forced to fight against the very people he had once protected.

'I'll kill that freak the next time I see him!' Naruto thought in anger as he remembered that all of the turmoil, death and destruction that had befallen the leaf village could be placed at the feet of one man, Orochimaru.

Naruto felt a soft hand grasp his own, which had been clenched at the thought of Orochimaru. Naruto turned his gaze up towards Hinata. Her expression was compassionate and drove Naruto's anger away. Naruto gently squeezed Hinata's hand as he once again turned his gaze towards the coffin that had finally settled to the bottom of the hole they had lowered it into. A single anbu walked up and performed a simple earth jutsu to completely cover the hole that held Sarutobi. One by one, all of the inhabitants began to walk away. Funeral or not, there was still much work to be done around the village.

Naruto was one of the last to leave. He remained where he stood until the only ones left were Hinata and himself. He slowly walked over to the gravestone that showed where Sarutobi lay.

"I promise you old man that I will take the position of Hokage one day and protect it just as you and my father have done." Naruto said softly as he softly ran his hand over the gravestone.

Naruto stood up and turned to walk back with Hinata. They walked out of the graveyard together, both contemplating what would happen next.

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Kakashi stood in front of the ceremonial monument that held the names of every konoha ninja that had fallen in battle. He walked up to a few names, whose place he had long since memorized. He looked at the names of his former teammates, Obito Uchiha and Rin Inuzuka. He slowly ran his hand over the name of the man who had been a father to him after his own had committed suicide. This was the name of Konoha's yellow flash, the man who had been Kakashi's sensei, the man who Kakashi had had to run through with his lighting blade, Minato Namikaze.

Kakashi knew he would have nightmares about what had happened for the rest of his days. He continued to see himself running toward the stationary form of his sensei. He continued to see his hand penetrate through Minato chest, piercing his heart and ending his brief resurrection from death. Despite the fact that Minato had wanted to be stopped and that it was the only way to keep him from continuing to fight against the village he loved, killing his former sensei was the hardest task Kakashi had ever had to perform. Kakashi wondered if he would get a good night's sleep anytime soon.

"I thought I would find you here."

Kakashi didn't turn his head as Kurenai appeared behind him. She was still wearing the black dress she had worn to the earlier ceremony, as was Kakashi still in his black suit. Kakashi had sensed her approach. How he could differentiate her from anyone else wasn't something his mind focused only for very long.

"How are you holding up Kakashi?" She asked softly when he refrained from acknowledging her.

"I'm fine." Kakashi said curtly.

"I don't believe that." Kurenai said in the same tone. Kakashi didn't reply. He wanted her to go away and leave him in peace.

"For what it's worth, I know how you feel." Kurenai said.

"You know how I feel?! I highly doubt that Kurenai!" Kakashi said as he turned to give her a hard glare.

"How could you possibly know how I feel right now?! Have you ever had to kill the man who was like a father to you?!" Kakashi said in anger. He wasn't truly upset with Kurenai as he saw she was trying to comfort him, but his anger and self-loathing had needed an outlet.

"No I haven't, but I know what it's like to lose everyone you have ever cared for and feel alone. I know what it feels like to hate yourself for an inability to save those that you cared for." Kurenai said in the same soft tone. She knew that Kakashi was venting and wasn't truly that angry at her.

Kakashi looked back toward the stone feeling slightly ashamed of himself. He knew he should have let himself lose control like that.

"I'm sorry Kurenai." He said.

"It's alright." She said as she walked up beside him.

They stood there for a moment in silence as they looked at the names of the fallen heroes of Konoha. After a while, Kurenai turned to leave and give Kakashi his privacy. However, Kakashi's hand swiftly reached out and gently grabbed her's.

"Don't leave." Kakashi said softly, never taking his eyes off of the stone.

"Alright." Kurenai said as she stood beside Kakashi. Both had failed to realize that they were still holding hands.

Kurenai could feel Kakashi's grip tighten ever so slightly and saw that his body had grown rigid. She could feel the slight tremble in his hand and knew that while she couldn't see it, Kakashi was crying. This stunned Kurenai as no ninja had ever claimed to have seen Kakashi Hatake cry before. He had always held his emotions in check and even at the loss of a comrade he wouldn't cry, though he would be visibly saddened. That he was crying now told Kurenai that he had held back the emotions of grief and despair for far too long and was finally purging himself of the emotions that had never been truly released before. Kurenai stood by his side the entire time, simply holding his hand gently and letting him know that he was not alone.

After a while, Kakashi stopped crying and his grip relaxed. Kurenai turned to look at him and saw the gratitude that was present in his single visible eye. Kurenai smile softly in response as both turned to walk away together.

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Jiraiya was currently standing in front of the third's gravestone with a solemn expression. He was busy reminiscing about all the good times he had had with the old man. His thoughts went to when he first was placed with Tsunade and Orochimaru. He remembered all three of them fighting in the third great ninja war. Most of all he remembered his prize student Minato. Minato had been the son Jiraiya had never had. What few knew was that Jiraiya was actually Naruto's godfather as Minato had named Naruto after a character in the only book Jiraiya had ever written that wasn't a part of the Icha Icha book series. The book had not sold well and Jiraiya had been about to give up on it when Minato read it and told him that it was very inspirational. The hardest day of Jiraiya's life was when he had to watch Minato take his new born baby and rush toward his own demise to stop the Kyuubi. Jiraiya had wanted to take Minato's place but he didn't know how to perform the sealing jutsu. This event was a major factor why Jiraiya never stayed in the village for too long, there were simply too many painful memories.

'Just like with Minato, I couldn't save you Sarutobi-sensei.' Jiraiya thought sadly. He and Orochimaru had been at odds since the very day they were placed on the same team. However, they soon became teammates and finally friends. When Orochimaru had fled the village, Jiraiya had tried to stop him. While he could have defeated Orochimaru, his heart wasn't in it. He couldn't bring himself to harm his friend.

'And because of my weakness, you paid the price.' Jiraiya thought as he ran his hand softly over Sarutobi's tombstone.

"Jiraiya."

Jiraiya turned around to be met with two of the leaf village's elders, Koharu and Homura. They had been Sarutobi's teammates, but they had always been at odds about the way Sarutobi ran the village.

"What do you two want?" Jiraiya asked in annoyance.

"We want you to be the Godaime." Koharu said simply.

"What?!" Jiraiya asked in shock.

"Why are you so surprised? The leaf village must keep its strong image and for that you happen we need a strong ninja at the head of the village." Homura replied.

"No freaking way." Jiraiya said with a stern expression.

"Why not?" Koharu asked with a stern expression of her own.

"I wouldn't make a good Hokage. My strengths are in waiting in the shadows and getting all of information I can from my spy network. If I became Hokage then I wouldn't be able to move around like I need to keep up the spy network." Jiraiya said.

The two elder looked at each other but could find no way to argue against his logic.

"I already know who would be a better Hokage than me." Jiraiya said.

"You can't mean her?" Koharu asked in shock.

"That's right." Jiraiya said with a small smile.

"She'll never do it." Homura said.

"Let me worry about that. I'll go convince her to come back." Jiraiya said as he turned to walk away.

"Also I plan to take someone with me." Jiraiya said, though he didn't turn his back.

"It doesn't matter to us who you take as long as you bring her back." Koharu said.

Jiraiya smiled at this, though they couldn't see it, and waved over his shoulder as he disappeared.

'I wonder if you would say that if you knew who I had in mind.' Jiraiya thought as he vanished.

The two elders had never been big supporters of Naruto. While they didn't foolishly think that he was actually the demon fox, on the contrary they had complete faith in Minato's seal, they did believe the best decision should have been to kill Naruto at birth so that nothing could happen that could break the seal. When Sarutobi had vetoed their idea and proclaimed that Naruto would live, they kept a close eye on the boy. They were looking for any signs that the Kyuubi was gaining control. If it was revealed that he was losing control to the Kyuubi they would kill him. To them, the safety of the village came before the life of one single child.

When he left the two elders looked at Sarutobi's grave in silence. While they had been at odds with the Sarutobi for years since their team had broken up, they still respected the old leader. They both bowed in respect and turned to leave.

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The next morning, Naruto sat on the head of Minato's carving on the Hokage Mountain. Naruto's mind was still occupied with the information he had learned recently. He had found out that Minato Naimkaze, the fourth Hokage, was his father. Minato had always been Naruto's role model. To Naruto, Minato was everything he had ever wanted to be. Minato was always known as a hero, a great ninja, and the best Hokage to ever come out of the leaf village. He was revered as a great man and everyone knew and respected him. Naruto even liked the story about Minato's death. Naruto would always picture himself in Minato's shoes. To stare down the most powerful demon lord and willingly give up your life to protect the village was the ultimate example of Naruto's nindo.

'To think that you are my father. I always thought I would be ecstatic to find out the identity of my parents.' Naruto thought as he continued to look at the village. Intellectually, Naruto knew that Minato had done the right thing in sealing Kyuubi into him. However, he still felt slightly betrayed that he had had to shoulder the burden and was never told that Minato was his father. He knew that he would have been proud of his father and shouldered the burden of Kyuubi with honor.

'It's just my luck. As soon as I meet my father, he's taken away from me.' Naruto thought with a sigh of sadness.

"Hello Naruto."

Naruto didn't turn his head as the mysterious man appeared behind him.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked with a sigh of resignation. He really didn't want to deal with him right now.

"So how are you feeling right now?" he asked, ignoring Naruto's question.

"How do you think I feel?! I just found out my father was the fourth Hokage and that he was the one who placed this burden on me! Not only that but I lost him and the old man in the same day! So how do you think I feel?!" Naruto yelled in anger.

"Do you hate your father?" He asked.

"No, of course not." Naruto said as he calmed down.

"It's just hard to have him taken away from me the minute after I met him." Naruto said softly.

"Life is hard. How you deal with what the world sends your way defines you as a person. Are you going to give up? Are you going to blame him for all of your troubles? Or are you going to suck it up and keep going strong? " The man said.

"I'll never quit." Naruto said with convection.

"Good!" The man said in a cheerful tone as he turned to walk away.

"You could tell me more about this sword of mine." Naruto said, though he didn't expect to learn anything from this man.

"There are a set number of dragons for you to summon. There is the dragon of fire, water, earth, wind, ice, and lightning. Each has a different personality and will have to be handled in a different manner. Drac is the lord of the fire dragons and his personality is fairly straight forward. You possessed the beacon, thus he helped you. Also you passed his test when you told him the reason you decided to save Gaara instead of allowing him to die. It showed that you would not take the easy way out of a situation. However, Drac was always one of the most accepting of the dragons, the others may not be as easily accepting and you will have to win their respect." He said to Naruto.

"What a minute did you actually answer one of my questions?" Naruto said in shock.

"I have a feeling that you will be in need of this information in the future. It wouldn't do for you to insult one of the more temperamental dragons and get into a bad situation now would it?" He replied as he continued to walk away.

"Naruto." He said as he stopped.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Be very careful with who you trust all of this information with." He said in a serious tone.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"You'll see." He said as he left.

'Well at least he didn't say "that is a secret."'Naruto thought as he turned again to look at the village.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned around and smiled as Hinata walked up behind him.

"Hey Hinata-chan, how are you doing?" He asked as she came to sit beside him.

"I'm fine, how are you doing?" She asked in a concerned tone.

"I'll be okay. I mean how many kids get to find out that their father was a Hokage?' Naruto responded with a slight smile.

The smile left his face when Hinata simply continue to look at him, her eyes showing that she was not fooled by the fake smile.

"I just feel alone right now" Naruto admitted with a sigh.

"I find out my father was the fourth and that he was the one to seal the fox inside of me and then he's killed the same day I meet him. I always wondered if my parents hated me and left me, or if they had simply died against the fox. It turns out that they both loved me a lot and were looking forward to spending time with me." Naruto said with a solemn expression as he turned his head downward.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun. You'll never be alone. You'll always have Anko-san, Iruka-san, Shino-san, and me." She said with a soft smile as she raised his head upward with one of her hands.

Naruto simply looked at her in wonder. With only a few words and a single kind caress, she was able to lift his spirits. Her lavender eyes showed her faith in him as well as a multitude of emotions that made Naruto feel something he had never felt before. He took her hand and softly squeezed it. A small, heartfelt smile appeared on his face. Hinata was one of the only people who could raise his spirits and the only one who could do it without saying a word.

Naruto took his remaining hand and placed his palm against her cheek. Her smile never faltered as she leaned into the contact. Her eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the morning. Naruto was captivated by her as the sun started to rise. Hinata was also captivated by Naruto and the way the first few rays of the sun reflected off of his blonde hair to give it a deep golden look.

Naruto said nothing as he gently pulled Hinata's face toward his. Neither of them was thinking anything else except about the person that was in front of them.

'Hinata-chan.' Naruto thought as their lips drew closer together.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Both Naruto and Hinata turned to see an Anbu standing behind them.

"What?!!" Naruto yelled in anger. Couldn't they ever get a moment alone!

"The council has ordered your presence before them immediately." The anbu said.

"And you couldn't have waited a few more minutes to tell me that?" Naruto asked in annoyance.

The anbu didn't reply as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"I guess I should go see what they want." Naruto said with a sigh of annoyance.

"I'll see you later than Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a sad smile of her own as she turned and left.

'Darn it! I should have just kissed her!' Naruto thought.

'I should have just kissed him.' Hinata thought as she left.

"This better be worth it." Naruto said to himself as he turned to walk toward the Hokage's Tower.

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The council of konoha was made up of an equal amount of ninja and civilians. The Hokage presided over them all and had the power to accept or veto an idea the counsel made. The ninja that made up the council were the clan heads of all of the most prestigious clans in Konoha. Hiashi Hyuga represented the hyuga clan. Tsume Inuzuka, the mother of Kiba, represented the Inuzuka clan. Shikaku Nara was the father of Shikamaru and he represented the Nara clan. Inoichi Yamanaka was Ino's father and he represented the Yamanaka clan. Chouza Akimichi was Choji's father and he represented the Akimichi clan. Shibi Aburame was the father of Shino and represented the Aburame clan. Danzo, Koharu, and Homura were also a part of the council.

As Naruto walked in, he was instantly on guard. The atmosphere had darkened noticeably to him as he stood in front of the council. A majority of the civilian members were looking at him in unconcealed hatred. Koharu and Homura were looking at him in suspicion, but without outward hatred like the civilians, though Naruto could tell that they were not going to sympathize with him. Naruto did feel better when he looked at the shinobi clan heads. Chouza, Shikaku, Shibi, Inoichi, and Tsume were giving him slight nods of recognition and respect. Danzo's expression was unreadable, though he gave off an aura that disturbed Naruto.

'At least I'm not completely alone.' Naruto thought as his gaze feel upon Hiashi Hyuga.

Hiashi's expression was unreadable, as most Hyuga's were. Naruto's however, could not be said to be the same. This was the man that had kicked Hinata out like a piece of garbage. This was the man that allowed Neji to become the clan head. Naruto was careful to control his expression, but he knew that at least a part of his anger towards Hiashi was showing on his face.

"Naruto Uzumaki, do you know why you are here before us today?" Koharu asked.

"No I don't." Naruto said simply.

"We would like an explanation on the events that took place at the arena two days ago." Homura said, his expression intense.

"What about them?" Naruto asked in suspicion. He didn't like the way this conversation was going.

"You know what we are talking about brat!" one of the civilian council members said in anger.

"If I knew what you were talking about then I wouldn't be asking what you are talking about would I." Naruto said sarcastically.

Tsume gave a snort of laugther, while the council member snarled in anger.

"You will give me the respect I deserve." He yelled at Naruto.

"Respect is earned not given." Naruto said, not at all intimidated by the civilian.

"You are here Naruto because we would like to know why the dragon seemed to know you." Chouza said softly.

"Oh, that's because I summoned him." Naruto said in a nonchalant tone.

"You lie!" One of the civilian council members said as the rest made affirmative gestures.

"You ask me what happened and then call me a liar?" Naruto said in anger.

"We want the truth!" The civilian responded.

"That is the truth. I summoned him when I was fighting Gaara and after he was defeated then we flew back to Konoha." Naruto said as he reigned in his anger.

"How did you summon him Naruto?" Tsume asked in a placating voice.

Naruto paused before answering. He didn't want to give too much information away. He looked around and could tell that at least half of the council was against him. The shinobi clan heads, minus Hiashi, seemed to be sympathetic with him. He remembered the man telling him to be very careful with the information he had.

"Why do you want to know?" Naruto asked.

"It's not your place to ask us anything boy!" One of the civilian members said.

"I could understand if the shinobi clan head wanted to know, but why does the civilian council care?" Naruto ask again, his suspicions rising.

"We would like to know how you were able to summon beings that until recently were believed to be only things of legend." Shikaku said in a bored tone.

"I summoned them with the use of my sword." Naruto said. He was still unsure whether or not he wanted to reveal the information, but as long as he didn't go into details then he should be okay.

"Your sword? Might I see it?" Danzo asked.

Something about the way Danzo said that raised warning bells in Naruto's head.

"I rather you didn't." Naruto said.

"You dare refuse the council's decision?" Danzo asked dangerously.

"You are the only one who wants to see my sword. I'm pretty sure that you can't order a shinobi to reveal something of theirs." Naruto said.

"You are correct Naruto. Only the Hokage has that power." Shibi replied, much to the annoyance of Danzo.

"Look, the truth is that even I don't know how my sword works. It was given to me be someone and only I can wield it." Naruto said simply.

"Who gave it to you?" Inoichi asked.

"I don't know." Naruto said.

"You are accepting things from unknown, potentially dangerous, individuals?" Homura asked in annoyance.

"Trust me on this, if he wanted to cause trouble he would have no problem doing it." Naruto said replied.

"We would like to meet this man." Donzo said, thinking of ways to make the man talk and gain control over the dragons.

"Good luck with that. He comes and goes as he wants." Naruto said with a small laugh.

"You think this is funny?!" One of the civilians asked in anger.

"Unless I've done something illegal to warrant fear for my life, I don't see why I should be fearful right now." Naruto said.

"I believe we should take a vote of whether or not we should confiscate his sword. It could be used to give us control over the dragon and that would make us infinitely more powerful." Danzo said.

Most of the civilians as well as Homura and Koharu nodded in agreement. However a decision by the council pertaining to a shinobi had to be made by the shinobi heads as well as the civilians. Homura and Koharu were advisors to the Hokage and thus had no real vote themselves. The entire civilian side voted in favor of taking Naruto's sword. Shibi, Inoichi, Tsume, Shikaku, and Chouza were against the action. The final decision came to Hiashi.

Naruto groaned in annoyance as well as defeat. He knew that Hiashi would vote against him.

"I vote that we don't take it from the boy." Hiashi said much to the surprise of Naruto as well as the rest of the council.

"The council is divided it seems." Shibi said calmly. In such an instance, the Hokage would make the final decision about the motion.

"It seems that this will have to wait until after a new Hokage is determined." Tsume said with a smile.

"So it seems." Danzo said. While visibly calm, he was seething underneath in anger. He wanted the blade as well as the boy and he knew that he wouldn't be able to do either of these if the shinobi clan heads continued to stand against him. He turned his gaze towards Hiashi in confusion as well as suspicion.

'What are you planning Hiashi?' Danzo thought as the council began to disperse.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. He turned to leave when he stopped and gazed at Hiashi. He didn't know why the man had voted for him, but he wouldn't take it at face value. Naruto knew that Hiashi wanted something.

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Naruto walked down the street thinking about what had just transpired. It was apparent that a majority of the council was against him. If not for Hiashi, then he would have been forced to relinquish his blade.

"Hey you!"

Naruto turned around to see a strange man running toward him.

"You're Naruto right?" Jiraiya asked.

"Who wants to know?" Naruto asked.

"You don't know who I am?!" Jiraiya asked in shock. He then proceeded to do a long and strange introduction, revealing himself to be Jiraiya the toad sage and the author of the popular Icha Icha book series.

"You're the one who wrote those perverted books Kakashi-sensei reads?! You must be the biggest pervert in the world!" Naruto yelled in disgust.

"Thanks kid!" Jiraiya said with pride.

"What do you want?" Naruto said in annoyance.

"I want you to accompany me on a trip to retrieve the next Hokage." Jiraiya said.

"And why should I, Ero-senin?" Naruto asked.

"Don't call me that! I want you to come with me so that I can tell you more about your father." Jiraiya said seriously.

Naruto's next response died in his throat.

"You knew my father?" Naruto asked softly.

"Knew him? I trained him myself! I can tell that you have just as much potential as he did, kid!" Jiraiya said in a happy tone.

"Okay I guess, but how long will I be gone?" Naruto asked. He didn't want to be away from his friends for a long time.

"There's no telling kid, but trust me that if you come along then I'll teach you a strong technique." Jiraiya said.

"Okay, I'll go." Naruto said after a few minutes of thinking.

"Meet me at the gates in one hour then!" Jiraiya said as he disappeared.

'One hour!' Naruto thought as he ran back to his apartment to pack.

An hour later, Naruto was waiting at the gates for Jiraiya to show up. He didn't really want to leave his friends for a long time, but this might be his only chance to learn about his father as well as learning a new technique.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned to see Hinata, Shino, and Kurenai coming toward him.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here?" Naruto said happily.

"I brought them here." Jiraiya said from behind Naruto.

Naruto went to talk to Hinata and Shino as Kurenai walked up the Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sama, please look after him." Kurenai said with respect.

"I will." Jiraiya said.

"Oh and if you try and make him a pervert then I will make you regret it, understand!" Kurenai said as she got in Jiraiya's face.

"Understood." Jiraiya said a bit nervously. He may be a sannin but even he knew to never cross an enraged woman.

Naruto shook Shino's hand and promised that he would take care of himself. Shino walked away when he saw the look Naruto shared with Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, please come back okay?" Hinata asked as she placed her hand on his cheek.

"I will Hinata-chan." Naruto said as she began to turn away.

'It's now or never.' Naruto thought as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. He wrapped her in a hug and stared down into her eyes.

Hinata was speechless as Naruto leaned down and finally kissed her fully on the lips. Hinata's mind went completely blank for only a moment before she returned the kiss.

Naruto didn't know what possessed him to do what he did, but he knew that if he was going to be away from her for a long time then he wanted something to remember her by until then. He wasn't sure when he began to think of Hinata as more than just a friend but he certainly didn't regret his decision. Kissing Hinata sent a shockwave through his entire body, from his head straight to his toes. He felt a wave of warmth spreading from his heart and when the kiss ended and they started into each other's eyes, Naruto knew that he would like nothing more than to remain with her like this.

However, all good things must come to an end. They turned to see Kurenai with a camera and evidently she had already taken a photo and was running to develop it. This isn't what broke them apart, however. Naruto turned and saw Jiraiya scribbling on a notepad with a perverted grin on his face. Naruto rushed over and snatched it from him and saw that it held a detailed description of their kiss, with a bit of fondling added to spice it up. Naruto glared at Jiraiya in fury and ripped the notepad up.

"Hey!" Jiraiya yelled in anger.

"Shut up!' Naruto yelled in anger as he turned back toward Hinata.

"I'll see you soon Hinata-chan!" Naruto said with a smile that put every other one he had ever showen to shame.

"I'll be waiting Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a smile of her own that sent strange sensation through Naruto.

"Come one kid, we don't have all day!" Jiraiya said as he turned to walk away.

"Fine." Naruto said with a sigh.

'Naruto-kun.' Hinata thought as she brought her hand up to touch her lips. She couldn't believe that she had just been kissed by Naruto. She was sure this was a dream.

'If this is a dream never let me wake up.' Hinata thought as she turned to walk back to her home.

Hinata failed to see the single figure that was observing her.

'Hiashi-sama will want to know about this.' The Hyuga member thought as he ran to tell the head of the Hyuga clan about the new development.

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Danzo was not happy. He knew that to gain control over Naruto, he would most likely have to convince the boy to join of his own free will as the shinobi council members would not support his decision to forcibly make him into the weapon that he should always have been.

'I will need something to push Uzumkai to his breaking point. Once he breaks I will be able to pick up the pieces and mold him into the ultimate fighting weapon.' Danzo thought as he approached the Uchiha clan sector.

He knocked on the door and Sasuke opened it to stare at him in confusion.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"I want to help you accomplish your goals Sasuke. I want to give you the power you desire." Danzo said with a smirk.

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"The mighty leaf village. Look what it's been reduced to." A single figure said as he and his partner walked toward the gates. They were both wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them and straw hats that hid their features.

"Yes it has seen better days." The other member said in an emotionless voice.

"Don't you feel anything for your former village Itachi?" Kisame said as he looked toward the Uchiha who had decimated his entire clan in a night, save his little brother.

"No I don't. I am only here so that we can complete our mission." Itachi said as he and Kisame walked past the gate guards by using Itachi's sharingan.

"We need to find the kyuubi container and capture him. It shouldn't be too hard." Kisame said with a smile.

"Don't get cocky Kisame." Itachi said as they made their way through the village in search of Naruto.

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**Here's chapter 28. A filler chapter I know but it is necessary so I could set the stage for the next part of the story. Why is Danzo going to Sasuke? Why is Hiashi having Hinata followed? When will Itachi and Kisame find out that Naruto is no longer in the village? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out! Oh and thanks again to all my reviewrs!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

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Hinata walked back towards her home with a skip in her step. She was nearly bursting with excitement from their shared kiss. It was better than she could have ever imagined. She had felt it from the top of her head down to her toes. It left an electrifying feeling throughout her body. She came upon her home and was surprised to see Kakashi at the door talking to Kurenai. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company very much if the laughter Hinata heard from them was any indication to go by.

A smile slowly spread across Hinata's face that would have made Anko proud.

'Payback time.' Hinata thought deviously as she waited for Kakashi to leave. She slowly crept up behind Kurenai, whose attention was focused on the departing jonin.

"You two make a cute couple." Hinata said loudly. Hinata began laughing loudly at Kurenai's shocked and slightly embarrassed expression.

"I have no idea what you are talking about Hinata." Kurenai said as a blush spread across her face.

"Whatever you say nee-san." Hinata said as she walked into the house, her smile never departing from her face.

"What about you and Naruto? What happened after the kiss?" Kurenai asked.

"He told me that he would see me soon." Hinata said as her expression held a far off look to it.

'That must have been some kiss.' Kurenai thought. She couldn't help but picture herself sharing such a kiss with someone special to her. She tried to ignore the brief mental image of Kakashi being the one to give it to her.

They were both interrupted when a knock came at the door. Kurenai went to open it and was surprised, and annoyed, to be faced with a branch member of the Hyuga clan.

"Kurenai-sama, Hinata-san's presence has been requested by Hiashi-sama." The branch member said as he gave a small bow.

"Oh? And what does he want?" Kurenai said in a dead serious tone.

"It is not for me to say." The branch member said.

"Well you tell Hiashi-_sama_ that she isn't interested." Kurenai said in disgust as she prepared to close the door.

"Nee-san wait." Hinata said as she walked up to the branch member. Of the entire main branch, Hinata was the only member to have ever been respected by the branch family. Hinata took after her mother and never treated them like they were lesser beings. Hinata was always kind and respectable to the branch family. They all mourned when she was thrown out of the clan.

"What does he want?" Hinata asked softly.

"I don't know, but he was very adamant about you coming and meeting with him and the Hyuga elders." He responded.

"I want to go and see what he wants." Hinata said after a moment of contemplation.

"Are you sure about this Hinata?" Kurenai asked in concern.

"I am, but I would like you to accompany me." Hinata said in a determined tone.

"Like I would allow you to face those wolves alone." Kurenai responded with a smile as they followed the branch member to the Hyuga clan estate.

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Hiashi sat calmly before the council of the Hyuga clan, which was made up of the oldest main branch members. They all waited for the arrival of Hinata. However, Hiashi's expression darkened slightly when he saw Kurenai had arrived as well.

'She's going to make this difficult.' Hiashi thought as he watched as Hinata gave a very slight bow to the Hyuga elders. Kurenai bowed as well; however, it was plain to see that their bows held very little, if any, respect.

"Hinata…Kurenai-san." Hiashi said in acknowledgement as the two sat down.

"Hiashi-san." Hinata responded in a neutral tone.

"We thank you for responding to our summons." Hiashi said on behalf of the Hyuga elders as well as himself, though a few elders didn't look very happy.

"And what does this summons pertain to?" Kurenai asked in a tone that was just short of being confrontational.

"I don't recall requesting your presence Kurenai-san. Perhaps you would like to step out while we continue?" Hiashi said in his same neutral tone, though the look he sent Kurenai was enough to relay his anger.

"She is here because I asked her to accompany me. If she leaves, then so do I." Hinata said in a soft, but firm tone. Her gaze was stern and showed no hint of self-doubt or uncertainty.

"Very well. The reason we requested your presence was to talk about the future of the Hyuga clan." Hiashi said.

"What about it? The clan has nothing to do with me anymore." Hinata responded.

"You are a Hyuga." One of the council members said in anger.

Kurenai was about to respond when Hinata placed a hand on Kurenai's arm to stop her.

"It was my understanding that I no longer held the name Hyuga after my banishment. I am now Hinata Yuhi, thus I have no more interest in the workings of the clan." Hinata said in a stern tone as she locked gazes with the elder that had spoken. He sent her a glare that would have made the old Hinata look away in fear. However, Hinata simply returned the gaze with the same stern look.

"We feel that we may have been a bit hasty with your banishment." Hiashi said slowly.

"Did I just hear the mighty Hyuga clan admit they made a mistake?" Kurenai said with a mock expression of shock.

"We would like to extend our apologies." Hiashi said as he ignored Kurenai's statement.

"Accepted, may we leave now?" Hinata asked.

Hiashi's expression hardened slightly. While he was pleased that Hinata had finally seemed to develop the attitude necessary for her to be the clan heir, he didn't like that she was showing this attitude towards him and the clan. After the invasion, they had all gathered to discuss what they were going to do about Neji's defeat. Not only had he been soundly defeated by the kyuubi container, he had also nearly destroyed their clan's image with his overly vicious attacks. The populace had begun to treat many of the Hyuga with slight disdain.

The council felt that it was necessary to remove Neji from the heir position and blame his behavior solely at his feet, thus saving the clan from any lost respect. The clan knew that Hinata had gained favor from many in the village, some from sympathy because of her banishment, and others because of her strength to overcome and her kind and sweet demeanor. To the populace, she was a kind and pure heart and they respected her more than the clan. The elders wanted her to bring that same sympathy and respect to the clan.

"We would like you to once again take up the mantle as heir of the Hyuga clan." Hiashi said.

"I believe you already have a clan heir." Kurenai said in anger.

"Neji has been stripped of the title because of his actions during the third round of the chunin exams." Hiashi replied.

"Only because of the way he acted during the third round?! What about his actions against Hinata in the preliminaries?! Don't you even care that she almost died?!" Kurenai said in fury.

"Keep in mind who you are speaking to!" Hiashi said in anger.

"No thank you." Hinata as she softly, cutting off Kurenai's reply.

"What?" one of the clan elders asked in confusion.

"No thank you. I have no desire to retake the position of clan heir." Hinata said.

"You would deny the opportunity to become heir to the most powerful clan in Konoha?" Another member asked as if the very thought was insane.

"I would. I am very happy with my life as it is. I really must thank you. Your banishment of me resulted in me gaining a true family, friends and even more." Hinata said with a soft smile as she thought about Kurenai, Shino, and most especially Naruto.

Hiashi saw the smile on her face and decided to pull his trump card.

"We know all about your interaction with the Uzumaki, Hinata. I'm sure you also care about his continued well being in the village." Hiashi said grimly.

"Was that a threat Hiashi?" Kurenai said as her crimson eyes took on a dangerous glint.

"Not at all, I am simply informing Hinata of the facts. The village council had a conversation not too long ago about his ability to summon dragons and that special sword of his. There was a debate about whether the blade should have been taken away from him or not. The final decision came down to my vote and I decided to allow the boy to keep the weapon. If the issue were to come up again, then I may not be so quick to save him." Hiashi said with a pointed look at his daughter.

He had been expecting Hinata to either revert back to her old ways and look away in fear, or for her to keep her composure and grudgingly accept. However, he was not expecting her to become angry as her gaze revealed.

"Don't you dare threaten Naruto-kun!" Hinata said in anger. The entire Hyuga council was shocked that the once meek girl was glaring at them all in anger.

"I am not threatening him. I am just telling you what could happen. I believe that you should think about it and give us your decision later." Hiashi said as the Hyuga council stood and began to leave, symbolizing the end of the conversation.

Kurenai placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder to calm the angered girl down, though Kurenai wanted nothing more than to attack Hiashi immediately.

"It will be okay Hinata." Kurenai said as they turned to leave.

"Will it? I'm not so sure." Hinata said in sadness as her anger left her and the magnitude of Hiashi's threat sank in.

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Neji walked blindly down the road with no clear destination in mind. Naruto's chakra flash during the chunin exams had overloaded his byakugan and rendered his eyes incredibly sensitive to light. The doctor's were confident the he would one day regain full eye sight but until that day, he was forced to were wrappings over his eyes to protect them from any light damage. When Hiashi and the Hyuga clan found out about it, they had immediately decided to strip him of the clan name and put him in the streets. They refrained from resealing him as they thought it unnecessary.

'How could this happen to me?!' Neji thought as he blindly tripped over a rock and fell flat on his face. Neji had gotten no sympathy from the villagers. They had all witnessed his actions during the third round and also knew about his actions against Hinata, who the villagers had a soft spot for. They would look at him and treat him with disdain for what he did to her. Neji was blind, and alone. For a Hyuga, who had always been blessed with the byakugan that could see through anything, blindness was a fate worse than death. Neji couldn't see anything and it reminded him of Naruto's piercing darkness technique.

'What am I going to do now?' Neji thought as he pulled himself off of the ground and leaned back onto a wall.

"Neji is that you?"

Neji turned his head toward the new comer, and while he couldn't see he recognized the voice.

"Tenten, what do you want?" Neji asked in his usual neutral tone.

"What are you doing out here if you can't see anything?" Tenten asked in concern.

"What makes you think I can't see anything?" Neji asked in an attempt to save face.

"The fact that you tripped over yourself a minute ago kind of gives it away." Tenten replied.

"I have nowhere to go. My clan stripped me of the Hyuga name and kicked me out." Neji said as he turned to walk away. He didn't want her to see him like this.

"What are you going to do?" Tenten asked.

"Why do you care?" Neji said with scorn in his voice.

"I care because you're my teammate and I don't like seeing my friends hurt." Tenten said in annoyance.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do now. I have no clan, no eye-sight, and no future." Neji said.

"You're a coward." Tenten said after a moment.

"What did you say?!" Neji yelled in anger.

"You heard me! You're a coward! In case you've forgotten, Hinata has gone through the same thing you went through and she's stronger for it. You said in the preliminaries that she should have just given up and quit, but she decided to continue to fight on. If you are so superior to her as you claim then why are you the one who's giving up." Tenten said in anger. She wasn't going to take his anger because he couldn't accept that he wasn't top dog anymore.

"What do you expect me to do? Hinata at least had someone who would try and help her. If you saw me trip then you obviously saw the way the villagers treat me." Neji said in a subdued voice.

"Not like you don't deserve it with the way you've been acting ever since you became the clan heir. You acted worse than the very same main branch members you despised so much." Tenten said. Neji didn't reply, he just continued to look away from her.

"Come on then. You can stay with me and my father for a while." Tenten said in a kinder tone.

"I don't need you pity." Neji said dismissively.

"It's not pity! If you think that the only way people would want to help others is out of pity or obligation than I am ashamed to have thought of you as a friend." Tenten said as she turned to walk away.

"Stop." Neji said in a commanding voice. Tenten simply ignored him and continued to walk away. She wouldn't put up with his superiority complex anymore. Even while they were talking, he treated her as if she was beneath him.

"Wait." Neji said in a tone that made the word more of a request and less of a command.

Tenten actually stopped when she heard the change in tone and looked at him expectedly.

"What is it?" Tenten asked.

"I will accept your help." Neji said in his usual tone.

"Oh thank you sooo much great and powerful Neji!" Tenten said in rage as she turned to leave again.

"What is your problem? I said I would accept your help."Neji said.

"You said it as if it should have always been given to you! I came offering you help and you act like you're doing _me_ a favor by accepting. If this is the way you are going to be from now on then forget about my offer and stay away from me unless we're on a mission." Tenten said in a dead serious voice.

Neji was stunned by the way she talked to him.

'I don't act that way….do I?' Neji thought.

"Tenten please stop." He said after a moment.

Tenten was prepared to continue to walk away no matter what he said until she heard the word "please" come from Neji of all people.

"What?" She asked giving him one more chance.

"I'm….sorry. Would you please help me? And if so than I thank you for your kindness." Neji said, though it sounded like he had to force a few of the words out of his mouth. He had been taught when he became clan head that he was special and that he never needed to saw such words as it was expected for him to be waited on hand and foot and for others to do his bidding.

"Okay then, but you had better watch yourself Neji. My father is not someone you can talk down to and hope to keep your body intact. Who do you think taught me how to be proficient with my weapons?" Tenten said in a tone that alerted Neji to the fact that living with her and her father would not be easy.

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Asuma was walking down the street looking at the repairs behind done to the village. He held mixed feelings about the past few days. He had lost his father and was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Sarutobi wouldn't be around to scold him, to joke around with him, or to give him fatherly advice. Asuma was upset about his father's passing, but he did respect the old leader's sacrifice.

'You always did put others before yourself dad.' Asuma thought as he turned to look at his father's image on the Hokage's mountain. Asuma was ripped from his thoughts when he saw Kakashi and Kurenai walking together. He gave a small smile and his mood brightened as he walked toward his fellow jonin.

"Hey guys what's going on?" Asuma asked as Kakashi and Kurenai turned to look at him.

"Oh nothing we were just out for a walk." Kurenai said quickly as a small blush appeared on her face.

"Sure you were." Asuma said with a smirk. His smirk disappeared when Kakashi tensed slightly. Kurenai picked up on it as well and both looked gave him slight looks of inquiry. Kakashi glanced quickly at the shop behind him, toward the two black cloaked figures sitting at a table. Their cloaks had red clouds on them and their straw hats hid any defining features about them. However, to put Kakashi on edge they must have been dangerous.

Both Kurenai and Asuma tensed in preparation of an attack. However, Kakashi simply turned to walk away. Though confused both of the jonin turned to follow the copy ninja.

"Kakashi what was that about?" Kurenai asked as she caught up to him.

"You'll see in a few moments." Kakashi answered as he pulled his head band up to reveal his sharingan.

Kurenai and Asuma turned to see that the two clocked figures were behind them.

"It's been a while, Itachi." Kakashi said as Kurenai and Asuma took defensive stances.

"Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi." Itachi Uchiha said as he removed his straw hat and opened his clock slightly.

"So you know these three Itachi?" Kisame asked as he removed hit straw hat as well.

Kisame was a very strange sight to see. He had blue skin, sharp pointy teeth, spiky black hair, and gill like marking on his neck. He held a large wrapped object on his back. Itachi looked like an older Sasuke. His black hair hung down in a ponytail and his eyes showed his complete sharingan.

"That I do. They are three of the best jonin in the village so don't play around like you usually do." Itachi responded in a neutral tone.

"Whatever you say." Kisame said with a predatory grin that showed off his sharp teeth.

"Where is Naruto Uzumaki?" Itachi asked in the same neutral tone.

"Why do you want to know?" Kakashi asked in suspicion.

"Your response reveals that you are aware of his current location. Tell us where he went." Itachi said.

"I think not." Kakashi responded as he pulled out a kunai.

"Oh goody! I get to hurt someone!" Kisame said with glee as he pulled the wrapped object from his back and swung it down towards Kakashi.

Asuma jumped into the way and pulled out his trench knives to block the strange object.

"Kurenai be very careful with Itachi." Kakashi said as they prepared to double team the missing ninja.

"There is no reason to fight. Simply tell us where to find Naruto." Itachi said.

"Like we would tell you anything!" Kurenai said as she and Kakashi rushed forward to attack.

Kurenai attacked high with a swift kick towards Itachi's skull. Kakashi followed her up with a strike towards Itachi's chest. Itachi blocked Kurenai's kick and did a swift back flip to avoid Kakashi's punch.

"You will have to do much better than that." Itachi said as he pulled out a few shuriken.

Kakashi jumped in front of Kurenai and blocked the shuriken. He then saw that Itachi had vanished.

"Tell me where he is."

Kakashi turned to see Itachi behind Kurenai, with a kunai held to her throat.

'How did he do that?' Kakashi thought until he realized that the shuriken were simply a diversion while he simultaneously created a shadow clone in his place.

"Let her go." Kakashi said in a deadly tone.

"You are in no position to tell me what to do." Itachi said as he firmly pressed the kunai into Kurenai's throat.

"You shouldn't underestimate your opponents Itachi." Kakashi said with a small smile.

Itachi was confused momentarily until he realized that Kurenai was no longer in his grasp. His eye sight began to waver and suddenly he found himself immobilized by a multitude of tree branches. He looked behind him to see Kurenai appear with a kunai to his throat.

"You shouldn't take your eyes off of your opponent." Kurenai said with a smile at her completed genjutsu.

However, her confidence was short lived as Itachi swiftly turned the tables on her and she suddenly found herself captured by the very same branches that had held Itachi.

"And you should remember the power of the sharingan. Genjutsu rarely works against a full developed Uchiha." Itachi said in the same neutral tone.

Kurenai was annoyed at being caught in her own genjutsu but swiftly dispelled the technique and jumped back beside Kakashi.

"He's good." Kurenai said.

"He was the leader of the anbu when he was 13." Kakashi commented as he gave a brief look to see how Asuma was fairing.

Asuma had left quite a few slashes and cuts in Kisame's skin, but the strange looking missing ninja simply laughed through each blow and returned with even more ferocious power. Kisame's wrapped object was revealed to be a sword. However, this sword was very special. It was covered in scale like protrusions that made the entire blade look like a piece of shark skin.

"Do you like me blade? Its name is Samehada. It doesn't cut, it shaves!" Kisame said as he swung the blade down toward Asuma. Asuma blocked with both of his trench knives, however with only one hand Kisame forced the blade down onto Asuma's shoulder. He pulled back swiftly and Asuma cried out as his right shoulder was shredded by the scales on the blade.

'This isn't looking good.' Kakashi thought as he saw Itachi watching him and Kurenai.

"If you won't tell me then I must force you." Itachi said as he closed his eyes and slowly began to open it.

"Kurenai don't look into his eyes!" Kakashi yelled to her.

"Too late, **Tsukuyomi**" Itachi said as he made eye contact with Kurenai.

"No!" Kakashi yelled as he watched Kurenai fall to the ground unconscious.

He turned to look at Itachi in fury as he created a lightening blade.

"Release her!" Kakashi said in fury as he rushed Itachi.

Itachi jumped aside to avoid the blow, but was surprised when Kakashi turned on his heel and struck out with a back slash that caught Itachi across the chest. It left a shallow wound, but Kakashi's increased speed and strength surprised him.

"You must care for her quite a bit to get so worked up. Tell me where Naruto is and I will release her. As you know only a few seconds equal 72 hours in my Tsukuyomi, however I have her suspended in the technique currently and have yet to torture her to gain the information I seek. I will begin to torture her if you do not tell me where Naruto is now." Itachi said calmly.

Kakashi seethed in anger. He was slightly surprised by his own reaction to Kurenai's plight. He rarely flew off the handle like he had just done. He wondered why he cared for her well being above his other jonin comrades.

'There will be time to figure that out later.' Kakashi thought as he saw Kurenai's face contort in pain.

"I have begun to torture her. I wonder how long her mind can take the stress. You must know that I control time in Tsukuyomi and I can torture her for days in only a few seconds, or for years in only a few minutes. Tell me where Naruto is." Itachi said.

"He has left the village." Kakashi said in defeat.

"Thank you." Itachi said with a small bow and he turned and began to walk away.

"Kisame let's go." Itachi called to his partner.

"Aww I was just beginning to have some fun." Kisame said with an annoyed look as he turned to walk away.

Kurenai began to awaken as soon as Itachi and Kisame disappeared.

"Kurenai are you alright?" Kakashi asked softly and he gently pulled her to her feet.

"I've been better. I'm considered the mistress of genjutsu and yet I am beaten by one. Talk about irony." Kurenai sid with a small smile before she passed out.

"Is she okay?" Asuma asked as he walked over to them with a limp. Kisame was very powerful and Asuma had taken a good beating.

"I don't know. I have no idea what Itachi did to her in that genjutsu." Kakashi said sadly as he picked her up to take her to the hospital.

"Asuma get an anbu team to track them." Kakashi said as he ran towards the hospital at break neck speed.

"Got it." Asuma said. Even though the situation was grim Asuma couldn't help but smile at the concern Kakashi was showing Kurenai.

'I wonder if you are even aware of how you look at her Kakashi.' Asuma thought as he ran off to get the anbu.

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Hinata ran to the hospital when she had heard that Kurenai was hurt. She passed Shino who was leaving with Haku and the Aburame's silence when asked about her condition scared Hinata greatly.

She walked towards Kurenai's room and saw Kakashi leaving her room with a solemn expression.

"Kakashi-sensei, is Kurenai-nee-san alright?" Hinata asked in fear.

"Her life isn't in any danger." Kakashi said slowly.

"But?" Hinata asked as she heard the unspoken word in Kakashi's response.

"Her mind took a great deal of strain, and she won't awaken. The doctors don't know how to bring her out of it." Kakashi said with a tone that held a mixture of anger and sadness.

'No!' Hinata thought as she rushed into the room.

'Why do I fail everyone I care about?' Kakashi thought in anger as he punched a hole into the wall. He left the hospital ignoring the shocked stares sent his way.

Hinata saw Kurenai's sleeping form on her bed. She briefly wondered if the slow rising fear of losing her was the same feeling that her team had felt when she was in a coma.

"Kurenai-nee-san." Hinata said sadly as she stood beside the women that had taken her in after her banishment and had become the closest thing to a mother since the passing of Hinata's years ago.

"It is a shame that she was injured."

Hinata turned and much to her annoyance was faced by Hiashi.

"Hiashi-sama, to what do I owe the honor of this visit." Hinata said in a tone just shy of disrespectful.

Hiashi's expression did not show that he had noticed the lack of respect, though he undoubtedly did.

"I am here to talk to you more about the offer from earlier." Hiashi said calmly.

"If you hadn't noticed, my sensei and nee-san is injured. I don't feel like discussing that topic with you right now!" Hinata said in anger as she glared at her former father.

"I would just like to clarify a few things without the council being around." Hiashi said in a disarming tone.

"And what might that be?" Hinata asked, her expression never changing.

"You always wanted to help the branch family and their blight. How do you plan to do that if you are not in command of the clan? Are you going to turn your back on them?" Hiashi asked.

Hinata's expression changed from anger to shame. She had always wanted to help the branch family, and Hiashi had a point. If she was the clan heir again, then she could help them.

"Also, as you have shown to have grown stronger, than your continued interactions with the Uzumaki would be allowed." Hiashi said.

Hinata looked at him in suspicion.

"First you threaten Naruto-kun, and now you tell me that you are fine with him?" Hinata asked him in a tone that conveyed her skepticism.

"The council wanted me to say that earlier. I have nothing against the boy. If you were to become the clan heir, then you would also bring good ties with the Aburame clan as well as the Uzumaki. If he were to become Hokage, then the clan would prosper. Also as clan heir, you would be able to defend him against the council members that want to harm him." Hiashi said as he saw Hinata's gaze turn contemplative.

"I will leave you with your thoughts." Hiashi said as he turned to leave. Hinata failed to catch the small smirk that spread across his face as he left.

'What should I do?' Hinata thought as she sat beside Kurenai's bed. She wished Kurenai was awake to help her.

'Naruto-kun.' Hinata thought as she took Kurenai's unmoving hand in her's.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Danzo watched with a smile as Sasuke trained with his root members. The Uchiha was truly a genius as he was able to accomplish many of the training regiments faster than the other root trainees.

'Still, his power is nothing compared to what lies dormant in the Uzumaki.' Danzo thought. His plan was very simple, give Sasuke the power he needed and let him loose against Naruto. Once Naruto was defeated at Sasuke's hands, Danzo would take the boy and turn him into the greatest weapon Konoha had ever seen.

'Still, physical pain will not be enough to break the boy. To break him emotionally, more drastic measures will have to be taken.' Danzo thought with a cruel smile as he looked at a picture showing a smiling Naruto and a blushing Hinata.

'Yes, she will do nicely.' Danzo thought as he watched Sasuke continue to train.

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**Here's chapter 29! Hiashi and Danzo have plans for Hinata, whose will succeed? What will Hinata's decision be? What will happen when Itachi and Kisame find Naruto and Jirayia? That is a secret! Next time will show Naruto and his training with Jirayia. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

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Naruto walked with Jiraiya down the road with an annoyed expression.

"Hey Ero-sennin, when are you going to tell me about my father and teach me some techniques?" Naruto asked in irritation. They had been walking for a day and he had yet to get any information out of the toad sage.

"Patience brat. And stop calling me that!" Jiraiya said without turning to face Naruto.

"Patience?! I have been patient and I want to know about my father!" Naruto yelled back.

Jirayia sighed and finally stopped walking. He turned to sit on the ground and motioned Naruto to do the same. When Naruto was sitting, Jiraiya looked up into the clear blue sky and seemed to be concentrating on something.

"Your father was the greatest ninja I had ever trained. There was something about him that was just special. Something that you don't see for over a hundred years. He was always calm and patient and put others before himself. You can't even imagine how proud I was when he became the fourth Hokage, the youngest to ever hold the position. He vowed to protect everyone with his very life. Your father was truly an inspiration to the villagers and is still considered to be the greatest of the Hokages." Jiraiya said with a solemn expression.

Naruto took everything in that Jiraiya had said and also noted the expression on the sannin's face. Jiraiya's expression had gone from happy to sad to joyful and then to despair. Naruto could tell that Jiraiya was feeling the pain of loss when he remembered what had happened to Minato the day Naruto was born. It made Naruto wonder why he was not able to mourn as well.

True Naruto had met his father, but truthfully, the death of Sarutobi hit him far more powerfully than the death of his father and it confused Naruto.

'Is it because I never really knew him?' Naruto thought in confusion.

"Alright kid, let's go! We've got to find Tsunade!" Jiraiya said in his usual cheerful tone as he turned to walk away.

"Wait up." Naruto said as he jumped to his feet.

'Maybe one day, I'll be able to properly mourn you dad.' Naruto thought as he ran to catch up with the toad sage.

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Jiraiya watched as Naruto struggled with the first step in completing the rasengan. He had given the boy the instructions and then let him go at it alone. It kept Naruto busy and gave Jiraiya the time he needed to calm the rush of emotions that always came up when he thought about Minato. Minato had been like a son to him and losing him had felt like a knife going through his heart. Naruto was so much like his father that at times it hurt to look at the blonde genin.

'I wonder what he would say if I told him that I was his godfather?' Jiraiya thought.

He stopped when he heard a loud burst. He turned to see that Naruto had burst the water balloon and was now jumping up and down in joy.

"Yes! I knew I could do it!" Naruto said with a smile.

"How did you do that so fast?" Jiraiya asked in awe. The first step shouldn't have been beaten so quickly by Naruto.

"I just thought about one of my other techniques, the slicing cyclone. I spin wind and make a small tornado in my hand. I realized that I had to swirl my chakra in the same way I do for my cyclone except I needed to do it in many different directions." Naruto said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Good job brat! Now for the second part!" Jiraiya said with a smile of his own as he gave Naruto a rubber ball.

"This step is about power, good luck!" Jiraiya said as they continued walking.

"What is your old teammate like?" Naruto asked as he tried to burst the rubber ball.

"Tsunade is considered the greatest medic ninja in the world! Also she has gigantic boobs!" Jiraiya said with a perverted smile on his face.

"Don't you ever think of anything else?" Naruto asked in annoyance as he once again failed to burst the rubber ball.

"Come on kid, you're at the age where you should learn to appreciate the female body. And you can't tell me you haven't been thinking about that little Hyuga girl your with." Jiraiya said with a smile as Naruto's face became a bright shade of red.

"S-shut up!" Naruto said defensibly as he tried to compose himself.

Jirayia simply laughed as they approached a nearby town.

"We'll stay here for the night kid. Keep working on the second stage." Jiraiya said as he and Naruto entered a hotel. He gave Naruto the key and then turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked.

"I've got research to do!" Jiraiya said with a perverted smile as he turned and ran to the nearest red light district.

"Perverted old man." Naruto said in annoyance as he walked inside the hotel room.

Naruto sat down on the bed and began to attempt to burst the rubber ball, however, his mind continued to return to the kiss he shared with Hinata. He couldn't contain the smile that crept across his face at the treasured memory. He had thrown caution to the wind and let his heart lead him.

'It turned out better than I expected.' Naruto thought with a grin. His smile left his face when he heard a knock at his door.

'Probably Ero-sennin.' Naruto thought as he walked over to open the door. He was surprised to be faced with two strange men wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them.

"Naruto Uzumaki, we would like you to come with us." Itachi said as he looked at the young ninja.

"No thanks." Naruto said as he closed the door and turned back around to try and burst the rubber ball.

"Did he just slam the door in our face?" Kisame asked in an unbelieving tone after a moment of silence.

"So it seems." Itachi responded calmly.

"That brat!" Kisame yelled as he kicked the door down.

"We really must insist that you come with us Naruto." Itachi said as Naruto turned to look at them.

"Why do you want me to come with you?" Naruto asked as he placed a hand on his sword.

"You want to fight? I bet you don't even know how to use that blade." Kisame said with smile as he pulled out samehada.

"There is no reason to fight. Simply come with us Naruto." Itachi said.

"And why should I Itachi?" Naruto asked, much to the surprise of the two missing ninja.

"How does he know your name?" Kisame asked.

"It matters not." Itachi said as he turned to back away.

"Don't kill him." Itachi said as he waited for Kisame to capture Naruto.

"Let's go brat." Kisame said with a smile as he slashed down with samehada.

Naruto pulled out his blade and blocked Kisame's slash. However, Kisame was not an S-rank missing ninja for nothing. He kicked Naruto in the side, smashing him through the wall and out into the street.

"Be careful Kisame, we don't want him permanently damaged, yet." Itachi said as he and Kisame jumped through the hole and pursued Naruto.

Naruto coughed up a bit of blood from the possibly cracked ribs and watched as Itachi and Kisame ran towards his position.

'I can't fight them around do many people.' Naruto thought.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as he created dozens of clones that all ran in separate directions.

"Hey no fair!" Kisame yelled as he watched all the Naruto run off in every direction.

"Calm down Kisame." Itachi said.

"Calm down? How are we going to find the brat now?" Kisame asked in confusion.

"We split up." Itachi said as he ran off to the left.

"Just great." Kisame said as he ran off in the opposite direction.

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"That brat is going to pay for making me waste my time like this." Kisame said to himself as he wondered around the outskirts of town, looking for Naruto.

"Hey fish face!" Naruto yelled from behind Kisame.

"What did you call me?!" Kisame yelled in anger as he took out samehada and slashed down towards Naruto.

Naruto blocked with his sword, only to feel Kisame beginning to overpower him.

'This guy is tough!' Naruto thought as he jumped back.

"You should have kept running brat." Kisame said with a shark like smile.

"I decided on divide and conquer." Naruto said with a smile of his own as he raised his sword above his head.

"**Dragon Strike!**" Naruto yelled as he unleashed the golden dragon shaped blast of energy at Kisame.

Kisame was not initially worried. Samehada had the special ability to absorb any chakra that was sent its way. Knowing this, Kisame slashed down with his blade. He was surprised when his sword failed to absorb the energy and he was hit by the dragon shaped blast.

Naruto watched the explosion with a smile as he turned to run away again. He knew that the chance of Kisame actually being beaten so easily was nonexistent. He simply wanted to buy some time while one of his clones found Jiraiya.

"That was a very interesting attack."

Naruto turned to see Itachi facing him.

"You should know that the sharingan can tell the difference between a shadow clone and a regular person." Itachi said as Naruto brought his guard up.

"Why do you continue to resist? You will only end up like Kurenai-san." Itachi said.

"What did you do to my sensei?!" Naruto yelled in anger as he attacked Itachi.

Itachi dodged all of Naruto's blows easily and kicked Naruto in the chest at the earliest opening. Naruto was sent crashing into a tree.

"I guess you're not an S-rank missing ninja for nothing." Naruto said as he tried to get to his feet.

"Kisame get up." Itachi said as he looked towards his partner.

"Nice shot brat." Kisame said with a smile. The only significant damage seemed to be to his cloak. He had only minor wounds on his body.

Naruto stood up and knew he was in trouble. He couldn't beat one on them on his own, let alone two at once.

'Darn it! Where are you Ero-sennin?' Naruto thought as Kisame ran towards him ready to knock him out.

Naruto jumped out of the way and began to make hand signs.

"**Ninja Art: Piercing Darkness Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as Itachi and Kisame were surrounded in a dome of darkness.

'Now it's time to make my escape.' Naruto thought as he ran full speed back towards the town.

"That was very clever." Itachi said as he came from behind a tree to stand directly in front of Naruto.

"How?" Naruto asked in confusion as he prepared himself to attack.

"You aren't the only one who knows the shadow clone jutsu." Itachi said calmly.

"What do you want from me?" Naruto asked as he readied himself.

"I want you to come with us." Itachi said.

"And why should I? Especially since you attacked my sensei." Naruto responded as he attempted to buy time.

"She refused to reveal your location to us." Itachi said calmly.

"I don't plan to go anywhere with you." Naruto said with a fierce expression.

"Very well." Itachi said as he closed his eyes.

"Wait Itachi! I've still got a score to settle with this brat!" Kisame said as he came up behind Naruto.

"You have wasted too much time Kisame." Itachi said as he opened his eyes to reveal the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Prepare yourself Naruto." Itachi said as he made eye contact with Naruto.

Suddenly a large toad landed right in the middle of Itachi and Naruto.

"Jiraiya is here!" Jiraiya said loudly as he jumped down in front of Naruto.

"Where the heck were you Ero-senin?!" Naruto yelled in anger, though he felt a wave of relief spread through him at the sight of the toad sage.

"Give me a break kid." Jiraiya said simply as he gave Itachi a strange look.

"Kisame let's go." Itachi said as he turned to leave.

"Hey wait!" Kisame said as he ran to catch up with Itachi.

"We can't defeat a sannin by ourselves." Itachi said as they both disappeared.

'Well that was a close one.' Jirayia thought grimly.

"Oh man that was crazy. Why do I always attract the freaks?" Naruto said as he fell to the ground in relief.

"Minato was the same way, always attracted trouble. Though he was able to handle it better." Jiraiya said with a teasing smile.

"Bite me ero-senin." Naruto said softly.

"Come on let's go. We've wasted enough time and we still have to find Tsunade." Jiraiya said as they walked back towards the town.

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"What did Itachi and that shark guy want with me?" Naruto asked as they sat together in their room that night.

"Their part of a group called the akatsuki. All I know is that they are targeting people who hold demons like you." Jiraiya said seriously.

"Perfect." Naruto said in annoyance at the prospect of a new enemy.

"Get some sleep brat. Tomorrow we'll get back on the road to meet Tsunade." Jiraiya said as he saw Naruto holding the rubber ball.

"Itachi said he hurt Kurenai-sensei. I'll make him pay the next time we meet." Naruto said in anger as he held the rubber ball and gave it one more try before he called it a night. Surprisingly, the ball exploded and threw Naruto back into the wall, knocking the exhausted ninja out cold.

'It seems that his anger gave him the slight boost of chakra he needed.' Jiraiya thought as he picked up the unconscious ninja.

'He's so much like his father. Give him a task and he'll complete it in half the time it should take a regular ninja.' Jiraiya thought with a smile as picked Naruto up and set him in bed to rest.

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"Man this is hard!" Naruto said in frustration as the balloon in his had burst once again. He had been trying to complete the third step for a few days and had yet to complete the technique.

"Keep at it brat." Jiraiya said as they approached another town. This town was said to have a huge gambling section and Jiraiya knew that his was the best place to find his wayward teammate.

As they walked through the town they knew something was amiss. People were running about and talking in whispered tones about something. Intrigued, Jiraiya went to talk to one of the many villagers. Naruto waited for the toad sage to come back as he once again attempted to create the rasengan. Naruto could feel the balloon beginning to expand and grit his teeth to better control his chakra. He felt joy blossom in his chest when he felt the balloon beginning to settle back to its original shape.

'Almost there!' Naruto thought as he strained his chakra control to the limit to contain the powerful swirling chakra.

"Let's go kid!" Jiraiya yelled beside him loudly.

This caused Naruto to lose his concentration and the balloon exploded, throwing Naruto back into one of the stores.

"Darn you ero-sennin! I almost had it!" Naruto yelled in anger. He felt that the perverted ninja had the worst timing ever.

"Well that means you should be able to control it better next time. An enemy is not going to give you time to just sit there and concentrate on performing a technique." Jiraiya said as he turned to walk away. Naruto, reluctantly, pulled out another balloon and once again began attempted to complete the third stage.

"What did you talk to the villager about?" Naruto asked.

"It seems that there used to be a large castle in the middle of this town, but it was said to have been crushed by a large snake a few hours ago." Jiraiya stated grimly.

'A large snake!' Naruto thought as he remembered the only ninja that could have summoned such a creature.

"Orochimaru!" Naruto said in rage as his eyes began to turn crimson red.

"Control yourself Naruto." Jiraiya said as a few of the villagers began to sway under the intense killing intent Naruto was releasing.

Naruto took a deep breath and slowly clamped down on his anger. He really needed to work on that or it would get him into trouble in the future. He knew a hot headed ninja swiftly became a dead ninja.

"Sorry." Naruto said softly.

"No problem I know just how you feel." Jiraiya said as he stopped suddenly and looked into a bar.

"There she is!" Jirayia said with a smile as he turned to enter into the bar.

Naruto looked and saw Jiraiya approaching a table that held two women. One of them had short black hair and was wearing a black kimono. She was also holding a pig, which caused Naruto some confusion. The other woman had long blonde hair that fell in two pigtails down her back. She had hazel brown eyes and a strange jewel shaped mark on her forehead. She wore a grey suit that showed off her impressive cleavage, blue pants, and a green coat. He saw Jiraiya go up to talk to her and was confused.

'Could she be Tsunade, she looks way too young.' Naruto thought as he observed Tsunade. He knew that she had to of been at least the same age as Jiraiya if they were old teammates, but she didn't look any older than thirty years old.

Naruto walked into the bar and could tell that Jirayia and Tsunade were having an argument.

"Come on Tsunade! The village really needs you to take up the mantle as the fifth Hokage." Jiraiya said seriously.

"It's a fool's job. Every Hokage has died for that stupid village and for what? They wasted their lives for nothing!" Tsunade replied.

At this statement, Naruo felt any control he had over his anger dissolve.

"Hey who are you to say that about the past Hokages!" Naruto yelled to the surprise of all the present parties.

"Who are you?" Tsundae asked curiously.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and you better take back everything you just said about the Hokages." Naruto said as he came up to stare Tsunade right in the eyes.

"N-Naruto?"Tsunade said in shock as he stared back at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, what about it?" Naruto asked as his anger gave way to confusion. Why was she staring at him like that?

Naruto suddenly found himself in a bone crushing hug. Tsunade was crushing the young ninja into her massive chest as hard as she could.

"I can't believe you're alive!" Tsunade said in joy.

"Um Tsunade-sama, you might want to allow him to breath first." Tsunade's assistant, Shizune, replied.

"Oh sorry." Tsunade said sheepishly as she set him down.

"What the heck was that for?" Naruto said as he tried to force air into his lungs.

"Sorry I got carried away. Look how much you've grown. And you look like a respectable ninja, probably no thanks to you Jiraiya." Tsunade said with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked confused.

"I'm talking about how you've seemed to take after your parents and not this pervert who's been taking care of you." Tsunade said as her gaze became confused as well.

"I only met ero-sennin a few days ago when we came in search of you. And how did you know my parents?" Naruto asked.

Jirayia began to sweat bullets when Tsunade turned an infuriated gaze his way.

"Naruto, who raised you?" Tsunade asked in a sweet tone.

"No one. I was always an orphan and had no one until Anko-nee-san and Iruka nee-san." Naruto said with a sad look as he remembered how alone he had been for the first eleven years of his life.

"What!" Tsunade yelled as he grabbed Jiraiya by his vest and pulled him over the table.

"Where were you?!" Tsunade yelled into the toad sage's face.

"Come on Tsunade be reasonable." Jiraiya pleaded as Tsunade pulled her fist back to punch Jiraiya.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on?" Naruto asked in annoyance.

"What's going on is that this pervert here is your god father! He was supposed to look after you should anything happen to your parents!" Tsunade said in anger.

"What?" Naruto said in shock.

"That's right, and I'm your god mother. I knew your parents and your mother was like a daughter to me." Tsunade said as he released Jiraiya.

"Then why weren't either of you there for me?" Naruto asked in a tone that was a mixture of hurt and anger.

"I didn't know about it. I was told that you had died during the Kyuubi attack. As for Jiraiya, why don't you ask him?" Tsunade said in a soft tone.

"I couldn't look after him! You know full well that my spy network is invaluable to Konoha. I couldn't take a kid with me to some of the places that I meet my contacts." Jiraiya explained to Tsunade.

"Then why didn't you tell me he had survived?! I would have gladly upheld my promise to Kushina and raised him!" Tsunade replied in anger.

"You were too broken to take care of a kid. Once you found out that Kushina died, you took Shizune and left, telling us that you wanted nothing to do with the village ever again. Sarutobi-sensei thought that it would be for the best if you weren't given Naruto as you were an emotional wreck!" Jiraiya yelled back.

"My mother's dead?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya had forgotten that Naruto was present and turned to look at him. His head was down and you could tell that he was fighting back tears of pain.

"Naruto I.." Jiraiya began on to be interrupted by Naruto.

"Save it!" He said as he turned to walk out in anger.

"Shizune go after him. I need to have a talk with Jiraiya." Tsunade said with a sad look on her face.

"Hai Tsunade-sama." Shizune said as she left to find Naruto.

"How could you leave him alone Jiraiya?!" Tsunade asked.

"I already told you." Jiraiya said solemnly.

"That was a bunch of crap! You could have at least checked in on him from time to time and let him know he wasn't alone! I've seen that same look of loneliness that was on his face every time I look in a mirror and remember Dan and Nawaki." Tsunade said.

"Sarutobi told me he was okay." Jiraiya said.

"Okay and happy are two different things." Tsunade said as he took a sip of her sake.

"Do you think it would have been any better if you took him? You can't tell me you were in the right frame of mind to take care of a child." Jiraiya said.

"You're right, but I would never have left him alone had I known he was still alive. I thought that I had lost everyone and everything precious to me when Minato and Kushina died." Tsunade said.

"This can all be explained later, what I want to know is if you will change your mind about becoming the Hokage." Jiraiya said.

"Much as I don't want to go back, I will take up the position." Tsunade said, much to the surprise of Jiraiya.

"Just like that? What about that talk of the past Hokages being fools for giving up their lives?" Jiraiya asked in skepticism.

"That was before I realized that there was still one part of my past that had survived. I wasn't there for Naruto for the first few years of his life, but I will be there to help him continue on his way. Besides, I want to meet the people that took such good care of our godson, since you didn't see fit to check for yourself." Tsunade said.

"As Hokage, you know that you need to be willing to sacrifice yourself for the entire village right?" Naruto said as he walked back in with Shizune. Naruto's gaze was hard and both sannin flinched under the lack of emotion present in his eyes.

"I do understand that. And while giving up my life for a bunch of strangers doesn't really appeal to me, maybe after I'm there I will discover what it is that makes you think the same way as your father." Tsunade said with a small smile.

"Tsundae-sama, what about the offer?" Shizune asked.

"Offer? What offer?" Jiraiya asked as Naruto and Shizune sat down. No one failed to notice that Naruto sat as far away from either sannin as he could.

"Orochimaru came and asked me to fix his arms for him. In exchange he would have brought back to life my dead loved ones." Tsunade said with a flash of pain in her eyes at the thought of her dead lover and brother.

"That snake freak?! Tell me you didn't accept!"Naruto said in rage.

"I was thinking about it. I mean wouldn't you if you had the chance to meet your parents again?" Tsunade asked.

All present parties nearly jumped back when Naruto's killing intent sky rocketed.

"I already had that pleasure!" Naruto said between clinched teeth. He didn't want to go into detail but he wanted Tsunade to know exactly what was awaiting her should she have accepted.

"Orochimaru attacked our village and summoned my father back to destroy the very place he fought and sacrificed his life for! I had to fight my own father and would have been defeated had the old man not jumped into the way and taken the blow that was meant for me. Next I had to watch as my father was struck through the heart by Kakashi-sensei to keep him from further attacking out home. I lost my father and a man that was like a grandfather to me the exact same day mere seconds between each other. And it's all because of the freak Orochimaru!" Naruto said as his eyes took on the look of a person who had lost far too much far too soon.

Jiraiya had already known what had happened, though it still hurt to think about the fact that his favorite student had been used by his former teammate to destroy his home. Tsunade and Shizune both wore shocked and dismayed looks on their faces. They couldn't believe the pain Naruto must have gone through.

"I-I had no idea." Tsunade said softly and in an apologetic tone.

"I just can't get over watching them both die right before my eyes. The old man told me something before he died though." Naruto said in a soft tone as well.

"What was that?" Jiraiya asked.

"He told me what my father had told him right before he had gone to seal the Kyuubi into me. He said that, to a Hokage, this was the best way to die, by protecting those you cared for especially your family." Naruto said as tears began to fall from his eyes at the memory.

Tsunade walked over and wrapped Naruto in a hug. He stiffened against it at first, but then let himself accept the warmth and comfort she was providing. Jiraiya was lost in his own memories and distinctly remembered Minato telling him and Sarutobi that very same thing when they attempted to talk him out of giving up his life.

Shizune had not known Minato, nor had she known Sarutobi that well, but she did respect their sacrifice and hoped that Tsunade would lead the village as well as they did.

After a while, Naruto finally stopped crying. Tsunade released him and his expression became slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry about that. I thought that I had finished crying over them." Naruto said as he tried to compose himself.

"You'll never completely finish crying over them Naruto. Take my word for it. I have been crying over the one's I've lost for years now and never learned to accept their passing." Tsunade said in a comforting tone.

Shizune was surprised at Tsunade's behavior. She had been with Tsunade for years and had never seen the woman act this way. Tsunade was normally gambling away money she didn't have while she drowned her pain in sake and attempted to forget about the past. I made Shizune smile to see her teacher beginning to warm up to another and she could tell that to Tsunade, Naruto represented a piece of the past that she had not yet lost and that Tsunade was going to protect him with everything that she had.

"I think that it's best to honor their memory by going on with your life. Never forget them, but don't let what happened to them stop you from continuing on." Naruto said, breaking Tsunade out of her thoughts.

"Maybe you're right." Tsunade said soflty with a contemplative look on her face.

"What are you going to do about Orochimaru now?" Jiraiya asked.

"The deal is definitely off. If what you say is true Naruto then the last thing that I would want is for my former lover and brother to be brought back and forced to fight against their will. They both wanted to be Hokage, so I would be dishonoring their memory if I helped someone that seeks to destroy the very thing that the Hokage is to protect." Tsunade said.

"Great! But you know our old teammate never took no for an answer." Jiraiya said seriously.

"Then I guess that we'll have to do something about that won't we." Tsunade said with a smirk.

"One thing though." Naruto said as he turned to look at Tsunade.

"What?" Tsunade asked.

"Why do you look so young? I mean you're supposed to ero-sennin's age right? So why do you look so young, when you should really be old?" Naruto asked curiously.

Shizune and Jiraiya both gulped and looked fearfully at Tsunade to gauge her reaction. Tsunade always used a genjutsu to persevere her youthful look and took offense when anyone called her old.

"Are you saying that I'm old?" Tsunade asked in a sweet tone that did nothing to mask the threat behind the question.

Seemingly oblivious to the danger he was in Naruto answered truthfully.

"Yeah I guess that's what I'm saying." Naruto said in a nonchalant tone.

'Uh-oh.' Jiraiya and Shizune thought.

"I'm not that old brat!" Tsunade said loudly.

"You've got to be about fifty _Baa-chan_!" Naruto said with a smile.

"You want to take this outside, _Naru-chan_!" Tsunade said with a smile of her own.

"Hey don't call me that I'm not some little kid!" Naruot yelled.

"Well I'm not that old!" Tsunade responded just as loudly.

"Yes you are, Baa-chan!" Naruto said.

"Then you're a young brat Naru-chan!" Tsunade said.

'This is interesting.' Jiraiya thought as he watched the exchange.

'The act alike.' Shizune thought.

"I say we take this outside!" Naruot said.

"After you, Naru-chan!" Tsunade said as they both went outside to settle their dispute.

"When I win this I get to call you Baa-chan from now on." Naruto said in confidence.

"When I win, I get to call you Naru-chan until Ororchimaru comes back." Tsunade said with equal confidence.

"Let's go!" Naruto said as he rushed towards Tsunade in attack.

Tsunade smiled at Naruto's enthusiasm. He reminded her of how Kushina used to act. Still, he was far from being strong enough to fight on equal terms with a sannin. She dodged all of his attacks with relative ease. She was slightly surprised at the different styles he attacked her with. After a moment she pulled her fist back, and with one finger, smashed the ground.

Naruto jumped back and his eyes widened at the damage she caused just by using one finger.

"How did you do that?" Naruot asked in awe.

"I'm a sannin remember. This is just a taste of my super strength." Tsunade replied.

"Then try this! **Ninja Art: Piercing Shadow jutsu**!" Naruto said as Tsunade found herself trapped in a dome of darkness.

'This is an interesting technique.' Tsunade thought when she heard a strangely familiar sound from behind her. She jumped away at the last moment and heard something slam into the ground where she once stood. The darkness disappeared and she saw that Naruto was standing where she had been and that there was a spiral like crack in the ground.

"What did you just try to do?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"The rasengan, but it's still not finished yet." Naruto said in annoyance at the lack of substantial damage.

"That's a difficult technique to learn. You sure you can do it Naru-chan?" Tsunade said in a teasing voice.

"I guarantee it, Baa-chan!" Naruto replied in the same voice.

"Fine then, if you can finish it in a week's time then I'll stop calling you Naru-chan and I'll give you this necklace of mine." Tsunade said, much to the surprise of Shizune and Jiraiya.

"Deal!" Naruto said instantly.

"Tsunade-sama, are you sure about this?" Shizune asked.

"Positive. I can see so much of Kushina and Minato in him. I know that he'll break the curse of this jewel." Tsunade replied.

"I think that's enough fun for tonight. How about we head in and call it a night." Jiraiya said.

"Fine by me." Naruto said stiffly as he turned and walked away.

Jirayia groaned at Naruto's new attitude towards him. It seemed that while Naruto was willing to forgive Tsunade, on account that she didn't even know that he was still alive, he was not so quick to forgive Jiraiya for never being there for him as he grew up.

"I've got some work to do if I'm going to get him to accept me again."Jiraiya said.

"So it seems. You can either mope around or you can do what I plan to do and get to know my godson better. I've got twelve years to make up for." Tsunade replied as she and Shizune followed Naruto.

Jiraiya looked up into the night sky and with a sigh turned to follow the group.

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"Orochimaru-sama, are you sure that Tsunade-sama will agree to your terms?" Kabuto asked.

"She always mourned the loss of her loved ones. I'm sure that she'll be so focused on the fact that she could see them again, that she will agree to anything we ask." Orochimaru said with confidence.

"And if she doesn't?" Kabuto asked slowly. Contradicting Orochimaru was like handling a deadly serpent. One false move and you'd be dead.

"Then I will have to take some troops with us to force her hand." Orochimaru said with a snake like smile.

'Soon I will have my arms back, and I will burn Konoha to the ground!' Orochimaru thought.

"There is one more thing you should know Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said.

"And what is that?" Orochimaru asked.

"We have been given a message from someone in Konoha." Kabuto said.

"What?! From who?" Orochimaru asked, instantly intrigued.

"He says his name is Danzo." Kabuto said.

"And what does that old war hawk want?" Orochimaru asked.

"He says he would gladly hand Sasuke over to us as long as we do something for him." Kabuto said as he read the scroll.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Orochimaru asked.

"He wants us to help him break Naruto's spirit." Kabuto said softly, as Naruto was a sensitive topic.

"I would rather kill the boy myself!" Orochimaru said in anger.

"He says that death will result in him killing Sasuke. He has something planned and he wants us to be ready to aid in his plans soon." Kabuto said and he closed and burned the letter.

"Send him a message and ask for the details. I would rather kill the boy myself, but if it will gain me Sasuke's body then I am willing to negotiate." Orochimaru said.

"Very well, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said with a bow.

'I might be able to kill two birds with one stone, it seems.'Orochiamru thought as a dark laugh escaped his throat.

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**Here's chapter 30! Naruto has found out that Tsunade and Jirayia are his godparents, Tsunade has agreed to accept the offer of the fifth Hokage, and they are preparing to fight Orochimaru. However, what does Danzo and Orochiamru have planned? How will this affect Naruto? What is going on in Konoha as we speak? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

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Naruto sighed in annoyance as he settled down to sleep. It had been three days since he and Jiraiya had arrived and met up with Tsunade. Naruto was currently annoyed at the emotional roller-coaster he had been on since the two groups had met. To find out that his mother was dead and Jirayia was his godfather was almost too much for him. He had avoided Jirayia for the entire time. He didn't want to talk with the toad sage for a while. To be honest, the only person he was comfortable around was Shizune. Tsunade's reaction to him was strange and unsettling. He could tell that she was suffering from something that had happened in her past as when she looked at him he had the feeling that she was not seeing him, but someone else.

'Enough of that now.' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes to finally get some rest. He had gotten a separate room from Jiraiya so there was no one to disturb him as he slept. However, sleep would not come peacefully.

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Naruto opened his eyes to see that he was currently in the sewer that represented his mind.

'Why am I here?' Naruto thought as he walked the path that would take him to Kyuubi.

When Naruto had arrived to the giant gates that held back the great demon, he was surprised to see the fox sleeping.

"Wake up!" Naruto yelled in annoyance. He really didn't want to deal with this right now.

Kyuubi slowly opened his eyes and fixed Naruto with a stare that held annoyance as well as anger.

"**What?!**" The fox asked.

"Why am I here?" Naruto asked.

"**How should I know, I certainly didn't bring you here.**" Kyuubi replied.

"As long as I'm here, I want to know a few things." Naruto said with a sigh.

"**What?**" Kyuubi asked in a tone that displayed his annoyance and indifference.

"Have you ever fought against Drac?" Naruto asked. He wasn't sure why he cared, but he was interested in how powerful his first summoned dragon was.

"**Don't insult me!** **He never had the power to stand up to me! He and Shukaku were always at each other's throats. I am far more powerful than that sorry excuse for a lizard!**" Kyuubi bellowed in anger.

"So who did you fight?" Naruto asked after regaining his hearing.

"**The only dragon to truly cause me problems was the dragon lord of lightening. But I doubt you will ever be able to summon him.**" Kyuubi said with a nasty sneer.

"Why?" Naruto asked in annoyance.

"**You'll find out eventually. Anything else you need to know before I throw you out of here. Talking to you is like conversing with an insect. I feel my IQ decreasing.**" Kyuubi said.

"Could you please stop yelling at me to kill my opponent when I am using your power." Naruto said, ignoring the demon's insult.

"…**.What are you talking about?"** Kyuubi said after a moment. His voice had lost its mocking tone and now was deathly serious.

"When I fought against Neji, and when I found out that my father had killed the old man. Both times, I felt a dark presence while I was using your chakra and it continued to tell me to kill the person in front of me. It's very distracting and it could get me in trouble in a fight so please refrain from putting both of us in a bad situation. I don't ever plan to kill in a rage like that." Naruto said as he crossed his arms.

"**You have it completely wrong brat. That voice you hear isn't me.**" Kyuubi said after a moment of concentration.

"If it wasn't you then what is that voice?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"**Where there is light there will be darkness.**" Kyuubi said as he closed his eyes, seemingly ending the conversation.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked in anger. He was tired of never being given a straight answer.

"**You'll find out soon enough.**" Kyuubi replied as Naruto felt himself beginning to be pulled out of his mindscape.

'Why does that not comfort me?' Naruto thought as he vanished from his mindscape.

After Naruto left, Kyuubi opened his eyes and looked down a particular hallway in Naruto's mindscape.

"**When are you going to make an appearance? **Kyuubi asked.

"**When the time is right. When his guard is down and the opportunity presents itself.**" Was the fox's answer.

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Naruto woke up to find that Tsunade's pig, Tonton, was resting in his chest. Naruto carefully took Tonton off of him and placed the pig on his bed. He still hadn't quite completed the rasengan and he had a bet to win.

Naruto was sitting in the middle of a section of the surrounding forest. There were broken trees and upturned earth all around him. There were spiral like marks all over. Naruto was panting in exhaustion. He couldn't seem to get the rasengan down for one main reason, concentration. With everything that had happened, his attention span was horrible. He would constantly have his focus broken and the situation he found himself in would run through his mind.

'I need to do something about this. Orochimaru is coming in a few days and I need to get stronger.' Naruto thought. He clearly remembered what had happened to him the last time he had run across the snake sannin in the forest of death.

"I thought I would find you out here." Tsunade said as she approached him a bit warily. Naruto had been neutral toward her for the whole week and she wanted to try and spend more time with him. She had been very close to breaking every bone in Jiraiya's body after she had found out that he had neglected his duties as a godfather.

"I'm going to win the bet." Naruto replied neutrally as he shakily stood to his feet and attempted to create another rasengan.

"You should take it easy." Tsunade said in concern.

"Don't worry about me." Naruto said, refraining from turning to look at her.

"I have to. It is what a Hokage should do right?" Tsunade replied as she tried to lighten the air with a smile.

"I don't believe you know what you are getting yourself into." Naruto said as he turned to look at her, his expression dead serious.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked in confusion.

"You want to be Hokage so that you can protect me right?" Naruto asked.

"That's right. I want to get to know more about you." Tsunade replied, unsure of the point he was trying to make.

"That's not enough to be the Hokage. If that's your reasoning then you shouldn't take the position. You can just come back and keep an eye on me, but I don't want anyone with your attitude to become Hokage." Naruto said calmly.

"What?!" Tsunade replied in surprise and anger.

"The old man told me once what the true meaning of being the Hokage was. It's not about trying to protect one person, or even the people you know and love. It's about protecting every living person in the village, those that love you and those that hate you. I'm hated by a majority of the village and am sure that many would rather kill me before allowing me to become the Hokage because of Kyuubi." Naruto said as he looked up into the serene blue sky.

Tsunade's killing intent rose sharply at Naruto's words about those that hated him, but it gave way to even more confusion.

"You still want to be the Hokage knowing that many of those people may never fully accept you?" Tsunade asked.

"That's right. No matter what I am going to become the Hokage to protect everyone in the village. Whether or not they accept me isn't my concern. I have no control over how they treat me, all I can control is how I treat others. I will gladly give my life for the village. I'm sure that's something that Dan and Nawaki understood." Naruto said softly as he turned to look at Tsunade again.

"H-how do you know about them?" she asked in a small voice.

"Shizune told me the day that we met. It was after I ran out of the bar. She calmed me down and told a little about you." Naruto said.

"They both wanted to be Hokage. And after I gave them this necklace they both died." Tsunade said as she clutched the small gem necklace in her hand and her eyes began to well up with tears.

"This necklace is cursed and for the longest time I thought the position of Hokage was also a cursed job that only fools took." Tsunade said as the tears began to fall.

"You should honor their sacrifice. If they were alive today and found out that you were going to be the Hokage, would they approve of your reasons for doing it?" Naruto said softly. He now knew the pain of losing people close to you and was sympathetic with Tsunade, but he was still going to make his point.

"No, I don't think they would." Tsunade said after a moment of silence.

"How about this. I'll win this bet and instead of having to call you Baa-chan, you'll have to give me that necklace. I'm going to prove to you that it's not cursed." Naruto said with a determined glint in his eyes.

"Deal." Tsunade said after a long moment of thought. She was not at all sure of giving the necklace to him, in fear that it would take the last connection she had to her past, but she had a feeling that he would be the one to finally prove the curse as false.

"You are so much like your mother and father." Tsunade said with a small smile as she wiped her eyes.

She saw Naruto's stance shift slightly and she was surprised to see him nervous about something.

"What's wrong?" Tsunade asked.

"C-could you tell me about them?" Naruto asked softly. Tsunade could see how vulnerable Naruto was at the moment and had a strong urge to wrap him in a hug. However, she restrained herself and instead gave him a kind smile as she sat down and motioned for him to do the same.

Jiraiya watched from a distance as Naruto listened to Tsunade. He could see that Tsunade was developing a soft spot for the young ninja and could only sigh at how he had lost any respect Naruto had had for him. He was not able to say anything to Naruto as Naruto would walk away without speaking to him or even acknowledging his presence.

'Maybe this is to show me how he felt when he was alone in the village.' Jiraiya thought in resignation.

He saw Naruto smile and laugh at something Tsunade said and saw that while both had tears in their eyes over the people they had lost, they were slowly healing and accepting their loved one's passing. Jiraiya turned and walked away, wondering what it would take to get Naruto to forgive him.

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It was finally the day. Naruto, Shizune, Tsunade, and Jiraiya all stood together to finalize their plan of attack.

"Okay then, I'll pretend to try and fix his hands. When he is close enough then Jiraiya will come out to aid me in attacking Orochimaru while Shizune will attack his assistant." Tsunade said. Shizune and Jiraiya nodded their consent. Naruto had an annoyed look on his face.

"I still think that I should be able to do something." Naruto grumbled.

"Sorry Naru-chan, but Orochimaru is on another level compared to you and his assistant must be very powerful." Tsunade said with a smirk. Naruto had still not been able to completely finish the rasengan and thus Tsunade began to call him Naru-chan since the day began. Naruto retorted that he could still finish it that very day and win the bet. Tsunade had agreed, but still decided to call him Naru-chan to get under his skin.

"Fine, but I'm going to jump in when I get a chance." Naruto said as his hand dropped to the handle of his sword.

"Okay let's go." Jiraiya said as they all jumped towards the rendezvous point.

Jirayia, Shizune, and Naruto crouched down on a building just behind Tsunade and lowered their chakra so that they wouldn't be detected.

Naruto's hand tightened on the handle of his sword when he saw Orochimaru and Kabuto appear. He seemed stunned that Kabuto was the assistant of Orochimaru, but quickly shook it off when he saw Orochimaru slowly walk towards Tsunade. All three ninja flinched when Kabuto jumped between them and attacked Tsunade. Orochimaru then turned to flee and Kabuto was fast behind him.

"Their running! Let's go!" Jiraiya shouted as they all went to regroup with Tsunade.

"Darn him! He saw through my trick." Tsunade said in anger.

"Don't worry about it, Tsunade-sama. We can still get them." Shizune said in a calming tone.

"Not if we sit here talking all day!" Naruto said as he rushed off in the direction Orochimaru went.

"Kid's impulsive, but right!" Jiraiya said as they all followed the blonde ninja.

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"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto yelled as he caught up with his master.

"I thank you Kabuto for seeing through Tsunade's trap. Still, her treachery was not wholly unexpected." Orochimaru said as he turned and looked in the direction of the fast approaching Konoha shinobi.

"What do you want to do Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked.

"Leave Tsunade and Jiraiya to me. I want you to take out Tsunade's assistant and incapacitate the kyuubi-brat." Orochimaru said.

"Do you think you will be able to handle both at the same time?" Kabuto asked carefully. He knew what happened to those that crossed Orochimaru's orders.

"I guess you're right. In my condition, fighting both at once would be far too troublesome." Orochimaru said as he opened his mouth and a single snake slithered out. The snake promptly slithered away.

"I will fight Jiraiya first. I want you to handle the other three until I am finished." Orochimaru said.

They had run out of time as Naruto was the first to arrive.

"Well, well, if it isn't the brat." Orochimaru commented with a smile that did nothing to soften the deadly glare he was sending the boy that had injured his arms.

"You're going to pay for what you have done to my family." Naruto snarled in anger.

"Doubtful." Kabuto said with a smile of his own.

"Kabuto? So you're a traitor as well." Naruto said with venom.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted as he, Tsunade, and Shizune arrived.

"Stay back, we'll handle this." Tsunade replied she took off her green clock and prepared herself for the fight.

"Go Kabuto!" Orochimaru shouted as he leapt towards Jiraiya. The toad sage blocked Orochimaru's kick, but was surprised when his former teammate used his long tongue to grab Jiraiya's ankle and throw him away from the group.

Before Tsunade could run to assist him, Kabuto jumped in front of her and threw a capsule towards her. It erupted and she found herself covered in blood. She froze completely and her eyes widened as she fell to her knees.

"Hey what's the problem?" Naruto asked in concern.

"She's hemophobic!" Shizune replied in equal concern as she ran to help her mentor. However, Kabuto jumped in the way and kicked her in her chest.

Naruto watched as Shizune righted herself and began to combat the sound traitor. Naruto knelt beside Tsunade and began to shake her.

"Snap out of it!" Naruto yelled to no avail. She continued to shake and her eyes still held a far off look to them.

'This is not good!' Naruto thought as he saw Shizune continue to hold her own against Kabuto.

"Look what we have here."

Naruto turned and was dismayed to find himself staring at a group of five sound ninja. One of them was holding the snake Orochimaru had released earlier.

'I reiterate, this is not good.' Naruto thought as he drew his sword.

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Jiraiya dodged the legendary blade that Orochimaru was currently wielding with his mouth. It seemed that even without arms, Orochimaru could use his treasured Kusanagi.

"You seem determined to run away, Jiraiya. Where is that "will of fire" that the old fool continued to speak of?" Orochimaru taunted.

Jiraiya's eyes hardened and in a surprising burst of speed, he grabbed the blade with his hands and threw it away. Orochimaru didn't have time to be surprised as Jiraiya followed up with a savage punch to Orochimaru's face.

"Don't you dare speak down to sensei like that Orochimaru." Jiaiya stated in a tone that gave the snake sannin pause.

Orochimaru had rarely seen Jiaiya as serious as he was currently and had a bad suspicion that this fight with his old teammate might go very differently than he expected. He shook himself out of his thoughts when Jiraiay attacked again. His strikes were more swift and powerful and if not for Orochimaru's natural snake like agility, he would have pounded the snake sannin into the ground.

Orochimaru launched his tounge to wrap around Jiraiya's leg and hurled him into the air. He attempted to kick him, only for Jiraiya to be prepared for his strike.

"**Needle Jizo**!" Jiraiya yelled as his long hair wrapped around him and extended out into spikes. Orochimaru hissed in pain as his leg was skewered.

Jiraiya released his technique and grabbed Orochimaru's leg only to hurl the sannin into the ground. Jiraiya landed in front of him with a complete rasengan in his hand.

"**Rasengan!**" Jiraiya yelled as he thrust the orb of chakra towards Orochimaru's head.

Jiraiya wasn't surprised when Orochimaru's body dissolved into mud. He was surprised when he felt a sharp pain and saw that the Kusangai had pierced him through his side.

"You really shouldn't let your guard down." Orochimaru said as he mentally called his blade back to him.

Jiraiya fell to the ground in a grunt of pain. He could feel the poison beginning to spread and knew he had to finish this fight quickly before it killed him.

"It seems we both have a handicap now." Jiraiya said as he shakily stood to his feet.

"Maybe, but I was always more talented than you, baka." Orochimaru said with a smile as he attacked.

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Naruto jumped back as the sound ninja threw kunai at him. He created four shadow clones and it became a five on five battle. Naruto knew that the fewer clones he created, the more chakra and blows they could take.

"Let's go!" Naruto yelled as he and his clones attacked.

Naruto swung his sword towards the head of his enemy, only for him to duck under the blade and attempt to punch Naruto in the chest. Naruto jumped back.

"**Hidden Shadow snakes!**" Naruto yelled as he grabbed the sound ninja and pulled the ninja towards him. Naruto swiftly slashed him in the chest. He then swiftly plunged his blade into the ninja's chest, killing him. He released the body and turned to see how his clones were fairing. He was not happy to see that all of his clones were now defeated and the four remaining sound ninja were preparing to attack him.

"**Dragon Strike!**" Naruto yelled as he unleashed his dragon based attack. While caught off guard, three of the sound ninja were able to dodge the blast. The fourth was not so lucky and was caught in the explosion, knocking him out.

Naruto leapt back and avoided the kick to the side that one of the remaining ninja attacked him with. He then ducked the punch the second ninja attacked him with. However, he was unable to avoid the double fisted blow that the original sound leader launched into his chest. Naruto leapt back to give himself room to fight.

"**Piercing Shadow!**" Naruto yelled as the three ninja were caught in the technique and found themselves surrounded in darkness.

'I need to be careful and not waste too much chakra.' Naruto thought as he rushed in to attack the ninjas.

Naruto snuck up behind one of the sound ninja and kicked him in the back of the head. He swiftly turned and threw several kunai into the second ninja. However, the leader was not so easily surprised and was able to block Naruto's punch to his chest and grabbed the blonde ninja. The technique dispersed and the two sound ninja got up to stand beside their commander.

"Looks like we win." He said with a smile.

"Boom!"

The leader jumped back as Naruto exploded. He looked around to see that he and his two men were surrounded by dozens of clones.

"Attack!" one of the clones yelled as they all threw themselves into battle.

Naruto watched as his clones attacked at once. He turned to see what was going on with the others. He was horrified to see Shizune take a blow to the chest and cough up blood as she fell to the ground. Kabuto's hands were surrounded in a green glow. Naruto didn't know what that was, but when he saw Kabuto take a step towards Tsunade's stunned form he knew he had to act.

He jumped in front of Tsunade and fell into the true dragon taijutsu stance.

"You really shouldn't interfere Naruto. You aren't even close to being on my level." Kabuto taunted as he rushed to attack Naruto.

Naruto dodged the blows as best he could but he was still caught on the wrist by one of Kabuto's blows. Naruto was shocked to find that he had lost all feeling in his hand and he dropped his sword. His momentary distracted state was all the opening Kabuto needed to kick him in the chest.

"Stay down. You are impressive, but you're not that special. If you fight against those stronger than yourself, then you will eventually die." Kabuto said as he turned towards Tsunade.

Naruto got to his feet and was able to get between Kabuto and Tsunade he blocked Kabuto's slash on his injured arm and felt the sharp pain as if a blade had gone through his limb.

"Do you like my attack? It's called the chakra scalpel and can slice up your insides without causing a scratch on your skin. You can't win, stand aside and I may allow you to watch what I do to Tsunade. She will heal my master." Kabuto said with a smile as he attempted to strike Naruto again.

He was shocked when he felt himself being restricted from behind. He saw that his arms and legs were bound by snakes.

'What?' Kabuto thought as he turned to look behind him. Naruto had called one of his clones to assist him.

'Now's as good a time as any!' Naruto thought as he held up his arm that hadn't been disabled.

'Concentrate…concentrate!' Naruto thought as he began to form the rasengan. He saw Kabuto struggling against his clone and knew he had only a few more seconds before the traitor was free.

'I can't lose here! I won't let this traitor hurt her!' Naruto thought as his resolve hardened and he finally exerted the force of will needed to complete the rasengan.

"NEVER threaten those I care about! **Rasengan**!" Naruto yelled as he thrust his attack into Kabuto's chest.

Naruto fell to his knees as he watched Kabuto's body be blown back from the legendary attack. He turned to look at Tsunade and began to slowly walk over to her. He began to slowly clean her up and continued to try and wake her up out of her stupor.

However, Naruto didn't see the blow coming behind him and he was thrown away from Tsunade. He turned to see that one of the sound ninja was still capable of battle he looked back and saw that his two companions had been defeated, however, Naruto had a sinking suspicion that this sound ninja was of jonin level.

"You'll have to do better than that! A few clones won't be enough to take me out!" He yelled as he kicked Naruto in the chest. Naruto cried out in pain as he was thrown further back. He slowly climbed to his feet and prepared himself for a battle. Naruto cried out in shock when he felt a blow from behind that caught him behind his knees. He turned and saw Kabuto behind him. The traitor had a large bruise on his chest and appeared to be having trouble breathing.

"Nice attack, if I had used up more chakra earlier than I wouldn't have been able to heal the damage. Even as it is, your attack did some cause me some major problems, but I don't think that you are in any position to take advantage." Kabuto said as Naruto fell face down onto the dirt.

"I'll tell you a little secret Naruto." Kabuto said as he knelt beside the genin.

"Orochimaru and I are deeply intrigued by Hinata-chan. I wonder what he'll do to her when she is in our grasp." Kabuto said with a sick smile.

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!"Naruto bellowed as kyuubi's chakra began to flow around him.

"We'll have none of that!" Kabuto said as he punched Naruto powerfully in the back of his head, slamming his face into the hard ground.

Right before Naruto lost consciousness, he heard the strange voice again.

'**If you can't handle this, then I guess it's up to me.**' The dark voice said as Naruto passed out.

Kabuto stood up shakily and began to walk towards Tsunade once again. He hadn't been lying when he told Naruto that he had just been able to heal himself against the rasengan. Shizune had given him trouble, but he was still able to surprise her with his chakra scalpel and incapacitate her.

He walked towards Tsunade and the remaining sound ninja walked towards Naruto's prone body.

"Don't kill him. Other than that you can do what you want." Kabuto said as he stood before Tsunade.

"With pleasure." The sound jonin said as he stomped down on Naruto's back.

He was surprised when his foot was caught. His eyes widened when he felt a massive wave of killing intent come from the boy. He pulled back and jumped away from the slow rising body.

'That's not possible! He shouldn't be able to use his legs!' The sound jonin thought as he finally caught sight of the changed ninja.

Naruto had changed. His hair had taken a wilder look to it. Also, it was now a deep orange color. His eyes were crimson red. His whisker marks had widened and were blood red in color. He brought one hand up and inspected the claws on the ends of his fingers. The sound jonin felt a very cold chill run down his spine when Naruto gave him a sadistic smile that showed off his fangs.

"**It feels so good to be free at last.**" Naruto said in a dark voice that was neither Kyuubi nor Naruto's, as a disturbing laugh came from his mouth.

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Both Jiraiya and Orochimaru stopped their fight when they felt the massive killing intent.

'Is the Kyuubi taking control? No…it's something else.' Jiraiya thought as he felt his knees going weak.

"The poison will get to you soon Jiraiya. What are you going to do?" Orochimaru said in a mocking tone. Truth be told, he was also disturbed by the feel of the demonic chakra they had both felt. When he had felt Naruto use it before he could distinctly feel the human part of Naruto along with the demonic power he was using. Now however, he could feel no separation between the two.

'That boy is very interesting, but also extremely troublesome.' Orochimaru thought. He paid for his distraction when Jiraiya was able to get past his guard and slam a rasengan into his chest. Orochimaru cried out in pain as he was blown back.

"Don't take your eyes off an opponent." Jiraiya said with a pant.

'I have to do something. I don't know what's going on but I know that it can't be good. I have to stop Naruto before something horrible happens.' Jiraiya thought as Orochimaru stood to his feet.

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"How can you still move?" The sound jonin asked fearfully.

"**Interesting, I do wonder why you would want to know something so insignificant when your very life will end in a few seconds.**" The being possessing Naruto replied as his crimson eyes flashed in bloodlust.

"We'll see!" the jonin yelled as he rushed towards Naruto in a surprising burst of speed.

However, his speed meant nothing as Naruto disappeared the moment the jonin attempted to kick him.

"**You are very slow. I was hoping for more of a challenge. Oh well, if you're not fast enough to interest me, why should you have legs?**" The demon boy said from behind the jonin.

The jonin attempted a backhanded strike, only for Naruto to grab the arm with no effort and break it cleanly. The sound jonin jumped back with a howl of pain. However, his torment was far from over. Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him and slashed out with his clawed right hand. It was encased in red chakra and the claws at the end had been lengthened. The sound jonin was shocked when he fell to the ground. Both of his legs had been severed at the knee. The sound jonin had never felt such pain. Sadly the wounds were cauterized by the red chakra so he had no chance of bleeding out in a relatively quick death.

"**So** **boring. The first time out in the real world and I have to deal with trash." **The demon boy said with a sigh of annoyance as he stood over the incapacitated jonin. The orange haired genin held up his hand as the claws once again elongated from the red chakra surrounding the boy.

"**You** **will experience the fate that awaits all those that attempt to take what is ours. Die.**" He said as he thrust his hand into the chest of the jonin. He was careful to avoid his heart. He wanted the jonin to experience every bit of pain he could. The orange haired genin paid no mind to the screams of agony coming from the jonin. In fact, he closed his eyes and seemed to relish the sounds as if they were a beautiful musical piece. He stared into the eyes of the jonin and smiled as he closed his hand around the jonin's heart. He saw the fear, pain, horror, and despair in the jonin's eyes as his death came slowly, and smiled in pleasure. The demon boy watched in glee as the jonin's life slowly and painfully drained from his body. Once the jonin's eyes were vacant he pulled his arm out of the jonin's chest.

"**Too easy. I hope you will offer a better challenge Kabuto.**" He said with a manic smile.

"Who are you?" Kabuto asked in shock and a small amount of fear.

"**I was never given a name. I guess you can call me Aku.**" The demon boy said as his red chakra flared around him and his power increased.

"**Now** **that the pleasantries are done, you can die like this piece of trash did!**" Aku yelled with an evil laugh as he rushed towards the stunned silver haired sound ninja.

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**Here's chapter 31. Sorry about the wait, things have been crazy! Anyway, who is Aku? Where did he come from? What are his motives? How will this battle end? That 's a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

**Hey guys! I just want to let you know that from now on Aku's name will be changed to Makaze which means Demon wind. Aku is far too simple and I think Makaze sounds cooler. I want to say thanks to the reviewer HolyKnight5. Now on with the story!**

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Makaze stared at Kabuto with an evil grin on his face. He was finally going to fight an enemy that was worth the effort.

Kabuto watched the dark orange haired ninja in front of him warily. Normally he knew that he would have no problem defeating Naruto. Kabuto knew that his skill level was on par with the likes of Kakashi, thus Naruto would be no problem for him to defeat. However, this new entity was strange and very powerful. Kabuto knew he would have to be careful. He was under orders not to kill Naruto, making his fight that much more difficult.

"**Let's go!**" Makaze said in glee as he disappeared from sight.

Kabuto jumped back and avoided the axe kick that the demon boy had attempted to hit him with. He ignored the brief feeling of shock he experienced when the kick cracked the ground where he once stood. Kabuto rushed forward and mounted his own offensive. He was attempting crippling, but nonlethal blows. Makaze's smile never left his face as he dodged Kabuto's strikes. Kabuto was very fast, but he was not at his top form and Makaze was going to exploit this fact.

Makaze jumped back and began to make hand signs.

"**Time** **to show Naruto how to really use this technique! Ninja art: Slicing Cyclone**!" Makaze said as he thrust his right hand forward.

Kabuto was familiar with Naruto's wind technique as he had seen him use it during the chunin exams. However, he was not prepared for the enormous power boost that Makaze gave the attack. Where Naruto's version shot out a small but powerful cyclone out of his palm, Makaze's cyclone encompassed his entire arm and the cyclone was four times as large as Naruto's version. Kabuto jumped out of the way, but the high velocity winds still threw him back. He looked up to see that the cyclone had completely destroyed everything in front of Makaze. The ground was upturned, trees were completely destroyed into tiny slivers of wood and any rock or stones had been completely destroyed.

"**I missed, how annoying.**" Makaze said as the deep slash marks on his arm healed themselves almost instantly.

'I'll never be able to simply incapacitate this ninja. I will have to resort to using deadly force!' Kabuto thought grimly as he decided to fight with his full strength.

"**Stop holding back! I want a challenge. If you keep this up you'll end up like that piece of trash I just got through killing. Though I was planning to kill you anyway for threatening what is mine.**" Makaze said with a serious expression.

Kabuto ate a soldier pill and rushed in with renewed strength. Makaze found himself hard pressed to dodge all of the blows and was too slow to stop Kabuto from landing a strike to his chest. Makaze felt his lung shred from Kabuto's chakra scalpel and coughed up blood as he was thrown back.

"You shouldn't be so overconfident." Kabuto said with a smirk as he looked at his downed opponent.

"**You should know better than to underestimate an opponent.**" Makaze said as he rose to his feet. His lung had already healed itself.

"How can you be healed so quickly?" Kabuto asked in surprise.

"**Why do you insist on asking questions that do nothing to help your current predicament?**" Makaze asked as he held up his hands and his claws extended themselves.

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Both Orochimaru and Jiraiya were breathing heavily from exhaustion. Jiraiya was still trying to fight off the poison circulating through his system and Orochimaru was trying to find enough room to unleash his summons.

'Where is Kabuto?' Orochimaru thought in anger. He couldn't use his arms, thus he couldn't summon the boss snake Manda.

While Orochimaru was contemplating a way to get to his right hand man, Jiraiya was contemplating how to help Naruto. He could feel the increased power of Kyuubi and knew that something was wrong, but he couldn't just up and leave. That would leave Orochimaru free to do something sneaky and catch them all off guard.

'What do I do?' Jiraiya thought.

"It seems that we are at a stalemate Jiraiya." Orochimaru said.

"So it seems." Jiraiya answered with a heavy pant. The poison was getting to him and he knew that he had to get help if he wanted to survive to help Naruto.

"While I would like nothing more than to finish this fight, it is to be concluded another day!" Orochimaru said as he turned and ran full speed towards the fight between Makaze and Kabuto.

"Oh no you don't!" Jiraiya yelled as he took off after Orochimaru.

Jiraiya made the mistake of acting too quickly and Orochimaru swiftly turned and extended his tongue once again. It grabbed Jiraiya around the ankle and smashed him through a tree.

'Now that he's out of the way, it's time to find Kabuto and end this confrontation.' Orochimaru thought.

Jiraiya painfully picked himself off of the ground and held his chest. He was sure that he had a few broken ribs.

'Can't worry about that now. I have to help Naruto.' Jiraiya thought as he shakily made his way towards his godson. Jiraiya may have made a mistake in the past by not being there for Naruto, but he wouldn't make the same mistake now. He would help the blonde ninja, even if it killed him.

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Kabuto looked at Makaze in anger. No matter what he threw at the young ninja, he simply got up and continued fighting. If Kabuto didn't know better, he would swear that the orange haired ninja was actually enjoying the pain he was receiving.

"**You are very skilled Kabuto. This is so much fun!**" Makaze shouted as he once again rushed towards the sound ninja and swiftly slashed him across the chest. Kabuto winced, but responded by striking Makaze in both of his arms and legs. Makaze fell to the ground and Kabuto jumped back to heal himself. He was shocked by the power of this entity that was using Naruto's body. While Kabuto would say that Naruto was of chunin level currently, he would have to say that Makaze was at least jonin level in terms of power, speed, and endurance.

'I have to do something, however, I still don't want to kill him. Orochimaru would be very upset with me.' Kabuto thought. He knew of a variety of ways to kill the boy, but he didn't want to incur Orochimaru's wrath.

Kabtuo was ripped from his thoughts when he felt intense pain blossom in his chest. He looked down in surprise to see that Makaze had shove his hand into Kabuto's chest, exactly the same way he had done to the now dead sound jonin.

"**You were very interesting, but this is where it ends. You should never come between a demon and what is his! Die!**" Makaze said as he prepared to close his hand.

However, Makaze was surprised when Kabuto kicked him in the chest with bone crushing force. He coughed up blood and looked up to see that Kabuto's wounds were healed and that his eyes had suddenly become blood shot. Makaze could feel the silver haired sound ninja's power jump up drastically.

"**Interesting technique.**" Makaze said as he observed his enemy.

Makaze was caught off guard when Kabuto appeared in front of him. The sound ninja didn't say anything. He simply went on the attack. Makaze once again found himself on the defensive. His normal smile had left his face and he was now becoming increasingly annoyed with Kabuto.

'**This** **is a good fight, but it's time to end this battle!**' Makaze thought as he jumped back and created space.

"Are you running away? How pathetic." Kabuto taunted, his voice deeper and more bestial.

"**Don't insult your betters!**" Makaze shouted as he began to make hand signs.

"**Take this! Ninja Art: Piercing Shadow Jutsu!**" Makaze shouted as Kabuto was surtrounded in the dome of darkness.

"I have already seen this technique from Naruto. It won't defeat me!" Kabuto said in confidence as he waited for the orange haired ninja to make a mistake and reveal his location.

"**Oh? I already said that he didn't know how to truly use his slicing cyclone, what makes you think that he knows the full extent of this technique?**" Makaze replied, his voiced echoing from all around Kabuto.

'Where is he?' Kabuto thought as he listened for Makaze's footsteps.

'There!' Kabuto thought as he turned and struck behind him. He smiled when he felt his blow land.

"**Boom**."

Kabuto was shocked when he felt a massive explosion from the body he hit and was thrown back.

"An exploding shadow clone. Smart, but not enough." Kabuto said as his wounds healed.

Makaze didn't reply. Kabuto waited but couldn't seem to pinpoint exactly where Makaze was.

'What is he waiting for?' Kabuto thought.

"**Ninja art: Slicing Cyclone!**"

Kabuto eyes widened when he heard the wind attack coming. However, he couldn't pinpoint exactly where the attack was coming from. It was as if the darkness itself was distorting his sense of direction. Kabuto wasn't even able to brace himself as he was hit by the enhanced wind technique and was literally blown away. He felt his flesh being slashed and ripped from the high velocity attack and was smashed through multiple trees before his momentum stopped. He looked up in pain and was met with the dark smile of Makaze.

"I detest repeating myself, however I will make an exception this time. Die!" Makaze shouted as he thrust his hand once again into Kabuto's chest. Like before he deliberately avoided the heart and slowly began to close his hand around the traitor's heart.

'I can't heal fast enough to stop him!' Kabuto thought in panic.

Makaze savored the look of desperation on Kabuto's face as he slowly closed his hand. He was surprised when his hand refused to close anymore.

'**What's going on?**' Makaze thought.

'Stop it!'

Makaze's eyes widened as he heard Naruto's voice in his head.

'**Stay out of this! You don't have what it takes to do what needs to be done!**' Makaze replied.

'This is my body! And I won't allow you to continue to do this!' Naruto replied from inside of Makaze's head. Makaze snarled in anger as he withdrew his hand from Kabuto's chest and clutched his head.

'**Let me finish this my way!**' Makaze shouted to Naruto.

'Let me out!' Naruto replied in equal anger as his control over his body began to return.

Makaze roared in anger as he felt his grip on reality begin to fade away, Naruto was regaining control.

"**Before I go I will end this!**" Makaze shouted as his claws extended and he thrust them towards Kabuto's face. He was surprised when a long tongue grabbed his arm. He didn't have time to ponder this as he was thrown through a tree by Orochiamru.

"Thank you Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said as he slowly got to his feet. His eyes began to return to their regular color as his wounds healed themselves.

"I am surprised that you had such a difficult time with the boy Kabuto." Orochimaru said in a critical tone.

"This new persona is much more powerful than Naruto." Kabuto said in his defense. His breath was coming out in pants. To heal himself from those massive injuries required most of his remaining chakra.

"Indeed." Orochimaru said as he looked towards the form of Tsunade.

"Time to finish this." Orochiamru said as he made his way towards Tsunade.

"Stop!" Naruto yelled as he jumped in the way. His breathing was labored and he looked on the verge of collapse. Regaining control from Makaze had taken every scrap of his willpower.

"You shouldn't have interfered boy. I was planning on allowing you to live, but it seems that you leave me no choice!" Orochimaru said as rushed forward and landed a massive kick to Naruto's chest. Naruto was thrown back to land in front of Tsunade. He was out cold. Orochimaru decided to end the fight as his sword released itself from his mouth and he rushed to skewer Naruto through the chest.

He was shocked when Tsundae grabbed the blade, even though she still had blood on her face.

'What!' Orochimaru thought in surprise.

"You won't touch him!" Tsunade replied with renewed strength as she pulled Orochimaru towards her and punched him with her world renowned super strength. Orochiamru was thrown back and caught by Kabuto.

"What are you doing?" Orochimaru asked in confusion.

"Why would you put yourself at risk for him? You don't know anything about the brat! I am offering you the chance to see your loved ones again." Orochimaru said.

Tsunade looked down towards Naruto's unconscious form and pulled off her prized necklace. She lifted up his head and put the necklace on him. Her eyes were filled with tears the whole time, though she had a smile on her face.

"Dan and Nawaki are dead. They both wanted to become Hokage, not just to protect those they knew and loved, but also those in the village that they had never met before. I know now that they would never accept being brought back if it meant the endangerment of the village they both loved so much. They may be gone, but their dream continues to live on in the heart of this boy. As long as there are those that embody the will of fire, I will gladly give my life for the village hidden in the leaves. For I am Tsunade Senju, the fifth Hokage!" Tsunade said with conviction in her eyes as she focused chakra to her hands.

"Foolish words Tsunade." Orochimaru said as he realigned his dislocated jaw. He watched her closely and saw Jiraiya suddenly appear beside her.

"We're leaving Kabuto." Orochimaru said as he turned.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked in confusion.

"You no longer have the strength to continue and while Jiraiya will be of little threat, he did weaken me enough that fighting Tsunade at full strength is an unnecessary risk." Orochimaru said as he turned his back.

"This little confrontation changes nothing. I will regain the use of my arms and then the leaf village will burn!" Orochimaru said as he and Kabuto disappeared.

"Glad that's over." Jiraiya said softly as he collapsed to the ground.

Tsunade quickly began to heal him.

"You always get yourself beat up Jiraiya." She said as she neutralized the poison in his body.

"Well some of us were actually fighting." Jiraiya said softly.

"Shut it." Tsunade replied, though she was ashamed at the truth in his comment.

"I apologize Tsunade-sama." Shizune said as she limped towards them.

"It's alright Shizune." Tsunade said as she healed her assistant.

"How is Naruto doing?" Jiraiya asked in concern.

"He'll be okay. He just needs some rest." Tsunade said as she healed Naruto and then picked up the unconscious ninja.

"I see you gave him the necklace." Shizune said with a small smile.

"He earned it. I know for a fact that one of those injuries on Kabuto was caused by a rasengan." Tsunade responded as they began their trek back to the hotel.

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Naruto once again found himself in the sewer that represented his mind. Unlike the last time, Naruto walked with a purpose to find the fox.

'He's got some explaining to do!' Naruto thought in anger.

Once Naruto found himself in front of the gates that held Kyuubi he wasted no time alerting the great fox to his displeasure.

"What the heck was that?!" Naruto shouted in rage.

Kyuubi opened his eyes and stared at Naruto as if he were an insignificant annoyance.

"**That was your dark half.**" Kyuubi replied simply.

"Why didn't you warn me about him earlier?" Naruto asked in anger.

"**I did try and tell you that where there is light there will always be darkness.**" Kyuubi replied calmly.

"You could have told me about him before he took control." Naruto said still seething in anger.

"**Don't act like you are blameless! He was only able to take control when you were at your weakest. If you don't like what happened than blame your own weakness!**" Kyuubi growled in anger. He was not going too talked down to by a lesser being.

"I want to know where he came from and what he is." Naruto replied in a subdued tone. The fact that Kyuubi was correct cut deeply.

"**Then find him. This is your mind** **so if you really want to find him than you will.**" Kyuubi replied as he shut his eyes.

Naruto turned and walked down one of the many hallways that made up his mindscape. Kyuubi was right, Naruto seemed to know the exact path that would lead him to his greatest nightmare. Naruto had wondered many times what would happen had he given up on his dream and allowed himself to wallow in the anger, rage, grief, and pain that made up most of his adolescent life. He knew that he would not like what he would find, but he also knew that it was an inevitable meeting.

Naruto stopped in front of door that he knew held the answers he sought. With a deep breath and ignoring the deep feeling of foreboding, Naruto opened the door and walked inside. Naruto was surprised when he stepped into a room that was very well furnished. He had been expecting something along the lines of Kyuubi's cage.

'This is different.' Naruto thought as he observed the pristine black carpet, the large king sized bed, the large book case beside the bed, a warm fire place at the back wall opposite to the bed and a lone chair that was set in front of the fireplace. The chair was turned away from Naruto, but he could tell that the set was occupied. Naruto steeled himself and walked around the chair. He found himself looking at the Makaze, who was sitting casually in the chair reading a book.

"**We meet at last**." Makaze said calmly, his eyes never leaving the book he was reading.

"Why did you do that?" Naruto asked just as calmly.

"**That traitor threatened what was ours and you ask me why I was willing to kill him? Don't you care about Hinata-chan at all?**" Makaze responded as he shut his book and finally made eye contact with Naruto.

In his eyes Naruto could see every emotion he had ever restrained within himself. Hate, rage, despair, pain, but right now the ones that sent a chill done Naruto's back was the emotions in Makaze's eyes when he referred to Hinata. In Makaze's eyes, Naruto saw lust and obsession.

"How do you know about her?" Naruto asked with a hint of fear.

"**We are two sides of the same coin. Everything you know, I know.**" Makaze responded as he went and placed the book he was reading back in the bookcase that stood beside his bed. He then carefully chose another book and began to read it out lout.

"**Sweet, kind, beautiful, caring.**" Makaze said calmly.

"What are you reading?" Naruto asked.

"**These are how you think of Hinata in our mind.**" Makaze answered as he closed the book. Naruto was shocked at the realization that each book must have contained a different memory of his.

"**Though I think you left out a few other words that would better describe Hinata-chan.**" Makaze said as he turned to look at Naruto.

"And those would be?" Naruto asked, his mind still trying to catch up with all of the information that had been pushed into it in such a small amount of time.

"**You forgot sexy, hot, and having a figure to die for.**" Makaze responded with a perverted smile on his face.

"Don't talk about her that way!" Naruto yelled in anger.

"**Why not? It's the way you think about her. Don't you get it? I am a part of your very mind, thus anything I feel you must feel as well.**" Makaze explained as he stood face to face with Naruto.

"Where did you come from?" Naruto asked.

"**Every person born on this planet has the capacity to do great things, or to commit unspeakable acts of evil. I am the darkness inside your very soul. Every dark thought, every negative emotion, every repressed feeling of pain, abandonment, hate, anger, and rage that you have felt strengthened slowly with the residual power of Kyuubi to give birth to me. You could say that I am the leaf village's self fulfilling prophecy.**" Makaze explained.

Naruto simply looked at the dark entity with alarm. This is what he would have become had he given up on forgiveness and allowed the dark emotions and thoughts from an early age as a result of the treatment of the village to shape him completely.

"You only surface when I am accessing Kyuubi's chakra, why?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"**Do you really think that I would be able to use the divine chakra of the dragons? I am your darkness personified.**" Makaze responded simply.

"What you did was wrong." Naruto said sternly.

"**What I did was necessary!**" Makaze replied just as sternly.

"**We are ninja, and it will eventually fall on us to kill an enemy**." Makaze fired back.

"Don't act like you had no choice! I know for a fact that you enjoyed the death of the sound ninja." Naruto declared with an angered look.

"**If you have to do something, then you might as well have fun doing it.**" Makaze replied calmly as he sat in his chair.

"Whatever, it won't happen again because I won't ever let you gain control over me again." Naruto said as he turned to leave.

"**Don't say things that you can't uphold.**" Makaze said simply as he stretched out in the chair, seemingly unconcerned with Naruto's statement.

"You won't get free again." Naruto said as he slammed the door and left his mindscape.

"**We shall see Naruto. We shall see.**" Makaze said softly with an evil smirk on his face.

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Naruto awoke slowly. His body ached all over but what grabbed his attention was the new piece of jewelry that he had acquired. He stared at the green pendant that once belonged to Tsunade and smiled softly.

"You earned it Naruto."

Naruto looked over and saw Tsunade kneeling beside his bed. She had a comforting smile on her face and her hand glowed green as she slowly began to work the kinks out of his body. Naruto closed his eyes and sighed in comfort at the gentle movements of Tsunade. Her healing hands were warm and his body was soon utterly relaxed.

"Thanks. Baa-chan." Naruto said with a smirk after she was finished.

"No problem Naru-chan." Tsunade replied with a smile of her own.

"Hey I finished the rasengan so you can't call me that." Naruto said, though his tone held no anger or irritation.

"I think that I am allowed to seeing as I'm the fifth Hokage." Tsundae replied, her tone still warm and comforting.

Naruto's smile left his face and he gave Tsunade a calculating look.

"Don't worry I've learned my lesson. I accept the responsibility of Hokage." Tsundae said with a placating gesture.

"If you're sure, then I'm fine with it, Tsunade-sama." Naruto said.

"Ugh, don't call me that it feels weird." Tsunade said with a wince.

"I agree! Man that was weird, Baa-chan!" Naruto said as he sat up in the bed.

"Stop calling me that!" Tsunade said in irritation.

"Anyway, I am impressed that you were able to use the rasengan. You truly are a great ninja, Naru-chan." She added.

"When I set my mind to something, I will accomplish it, no matter what!" Naruto said with a smile of determination.

"Of that I have no doubt. But one thing I can't figure out is how you were able to cause him so much damage. Besides the rasengan wound it looked like you were tearing him apart."Tsunade said in concern.

Naruto's head fell and he clinched his hands.

"That wasn't me." Naruto said through clinched teeth.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto looked up at her for a moment in concentration. He rarely shared things with people he didn't completely trust. However, when he looked into Tsunade's warm hazel eyes, he felt the urge to tell her. He felt that he could trust her and was warmed by the thought of having gained another person that was precious to him.

Naruto told her everything. He told her about Makaze and his actions. He also told her about where Makaze came from. Strangely enough, Naruto found himself telling her about his childhood. He told her about the pain, loneliness, hate, anger, and rage that was always directed his way. He didn't know when he began crying but he felt the need to let it out. He had never revealed the entire truth about his childhood before and it felt freeing to get it all out. Through it all Tsunade listened closely. She didn't interrupt, she just sat and listened. She held him in comfort when he began to cry and simply sat with him until he had emptied himself of all the pain he had experienced. Meeting Makaze forced him to face the truth of his past and how it truly could have affected him. Tsunade comforted Naruto as he rested his head in her chest.

"You know what the worst thing is though?" Naruto asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"What's that Naru-chan?" She asked in comforting manner as she rubbed his back.

'Being called that isn't so bad I guess.' Naruto thought for a brief moment.

"I can still see that sound jonin's face in my mind. I can see the pain, fear, and horror that was in his eyes. I can still feel the sense of satisfaction Makaze felt as he watched the jonin's very life slowly leave his body." Naruto said as he looked at his right hand, the same right hand that had caused the sound jonin's death.

"It wasn't my first kill. I killed a sound ninja a few minutes before Makaze came out, but the way Makaze enjoyed the kill reminds me of the way a demon would enjoy its kill." Naruto said as he shuddered and leaned closer into Tsunade's chest. The type of comfort he felt from being held by Tsunade was different than the type he felt from Anko or Hinata. He felt a sisterly comfort from Anko and a comfort that was far from friendly or sisterly is what he felt from Hinata. The comfort he felt from Tsunade had him thinking one thought.

'Is this what it feels like to have a mother?' Naruto thought as they stayed in each other's arms until Naruto once again fell asleep.

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"Let's go! I can't wait to see my friends again." Naruto said the next week. For the past week, they had been waiting for Jiraiya to regain his health.

Naruto had forgiven the toad sage as he knew that holding such a grudge was childish of him. The past was best left in the past. He was ready to move forward, though Jiraiya did have to do some serious apologizing. He hung out with Tsunade and Shizune for the past week. He had grown ever closer to both of the women and enjoyed their company. Tsunade and Shizune loved having Naruto with them as it was like having a younger brother to Shizune and to Tsunade, Naruto was like the nephew or son she had never had.

During this time, the group found out that Naruto had a gift for gambling. As Jiraiya stated it Naruto had the devil's luck. After Jiraiya had healed he returned to his usual joking, pervert self. They all enjoyed each other's company and simply enjoyed a week of relaxation without any of the stress or pressure of being ninja. This was a strange, but welcome week for Naruto. He had rarely had the time to simply be a kid and enjoy the things that regular teenagers enjoyed. Naruto learned a lot about his parents from Jiraiya and Tsunade and also a lot about Tsunade's deceased lover Dan. It seemed that Shizune was Dan's niece.

It was finally the day to return to Konoha and while Naruto was happy to return to the leaf village he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be a regular kid. He wondered what it would be lie o not have the burden of Kyuubi or to have to worry about carrying the responsibility to use the power of the dragons.

'It would be easier and nice, but I still prefer my life." Naruto thought as they began their trek back to Konoha. Naruto's thoughts were also on what he had learned a few days ago.

**(Flashback)**

Naruto waved to the teenagers he had been playing with as he turned to walk back to the hotel.

'This week has been great so far. It feels good to finally relax and be a kid.' Naruto thought with a smile as he continued to walk back to the hotel.

"Hello Naruto."

Naruto stopped in his tracks and turned to find the mysterious man behind him.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked in annoyance. He wanted to spend this week simply enjoying himself.

"I'm here to warn you." He said simply.

"About what?" Naruto asked, completely on guard and listening intently.

"If you allow your dark side to reign, then you will not only lose yourself but your sword." He said seriously.

"What?" Naruto asked in shock.

"The sword can only be wielded by those of a pure heart and a kind spirit. If Makaze gains complete control over you then the sword will withdraw itself from you. But as long as you keep your sword on you then you should be fine. It keeps Kyuubi from influencing you and it will keep your will strong and ward off Makaze's influence. Be warned Naruto that the more you give into Makaze, the more of yourself you will lose. He said with a dead serious tone as he turned to leave.

"I won't let him take control again!" Naruto said in defiance.

"We shall see Naruto. You can't tell me you didn't feel powerful when he was in control." The man responded.

Naruto was about to deny the claim when he stopped to think about it. While he hated the feeling of being helpless inside of his own body, he had to admit that the freedom of having no morals was slightly enticing. It felt slightly freeing to allow Makaze control.

"You will only stay in control for as long as your will is stronger than Makaze's will. He is basically another version of you. Thus his will is just as strong." He said as he continued to walk away.

"Normally you don't tell me anything, but the last two times I've talked to you, you have been very forthcoming, why?" Naruto asked.

"The time for games and puzzles is quickly ending. Be prepared Naruto, for soon things will become very dangerous for you, from enemies outside of the village as well as those inside the village." The man said.

"Oh and good job on finally kissing Hinata! I thought you'd never get the guts to do that!" The man said in his usual carefree tone.

"Hey that was a private moment! Don't you have anything better to do than spy on me?" Naruto yelled.

"…..Not really!" he said as he disappeared.

'What a weirdo!' Naruto thought as he turned to continue back to the hotel. However, as much as he didn't like it, the conversation had returned his thoughts to the reality of his situation. His would never have a normal life.

'Oh well, normal is boring anyway!' Naruto thought.

**(End of Flashback)**

"Hold up Naru-chan! Some of don't have the benefits of being so energetic in the morning!" Tsunade said as she followed him.

"Speak for yourself Tsunade! I am always full of energy! If you ever gave me a chance then you would see just how energetic I could be!" Jiraiya said with a perverted grin. This was quickly wiped from his face when Tsunade punched him in the face, sending him flying through the air.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune scolded as she held Tonton.

"What? At least his flying in the direction of Konoha." Tsunade said in her defense.

Naruto simply laughed at the situation as they continued on their way. All were unaware of the figure silently observing them from the shadows.

'Interesting development. I wonder what the council will think when they find out about his special friend.' The figure who was shown to be a root anbu thought as he disappeared. Danzo would have to be informed immediately.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Here's chapter 32! Makaze is going to be a constant problem for Naruto. He has convinced Tsunade to return and Jiraiya has been forgiven. However, he now returns unaware of the plots by Danzo and Hiashi. What will happen once he returns? What will happen now that Danzo has found out about the mysterious figure? For that matter how was the Anbu even able to see him?! That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 32**

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Hinata was turning into a nervous wreck. She had been coming to the hospital to check on Kurenai for the past week with no change in her condition. To make matters worse, Hiashi continually sent a Hyuga branch member by her house to ask if she had made her mind up yet about the heir position. She was not stupid, she knew that the reason Hiashi continued to send the branch members was twofold. On one hand, she never liked the way the branch members were treated like servants and their expression when they came to see her made her upset. Secondly, she had always wanted to help them and they were always hopeful that she would accept so that she could help change the clan. This made it even more difficult each time she had to tell them that she needed more time to think about it.

'When did things get so complicated?' Hinata thought as she sat beside Kurenai. A year ago, she would have been happy that her father and the clan wanted her to represent the clan and finally saw her as a success, but after having stayed with Kurenai and having become friends with Shinoi, Haku, and much more than friends with Naruto, she couldn't envision herself back with the clan that had shunned her. She had finally felt free. She was free of the cold stares, of the unnecessary arrogance, and of the endless protocols of the clan. She truly didn't want to go back, but if she didn't than who would help the branch members?

Hinata looked up when Kakashi came into the room. She smiled softly at the way the copy ninja stared sadly at her nee-san. She could tell that Kakashi cared deeply for her sister and it warmed her heart that Kurenai had someone like she had Naruto.

'Or at least I will when he comes back.' Hinata said with a slightly devious smile. Training with Anko was having an effect on the young girl. Anko was Kurenai's best friend and had been by a few times to check on her.

"How is she Hinata?" Kakashi asked, his gaze never leaving Kurenai's face.

"No change." Hinata said as her smile disappeared from the seriousness of Kurenai's condition.

"Naruto will find Tsunade. Then Kurenai-nee-san will be fine." Hinata said with absolute confidence.

"He does have a way of doing the impossible and changing people for the better." Kakashi agreed with a small smile.

It felt good to talk with Kakashi. Shino had been busy with his clan and they hadn't been able to talk very much. Hinata talked with Kakashi for a while before he turned to leave. Kakashi was shocked, and slightly annoyed when faced with Hiashi. Kurenai had told Kakashi about Hiashi's scheme and he was very wary of the Hyuga clan head.

"Hatake-san." Hiashi said as he stared at Kakashi as if he should leave.

"Hiashi." Kakashi said as he backed into the room and stood beside Hinata. He suddenly lost interest in leaving. He would stay and protect Hinata if need be.

"I came to speak with my daughter. It is private so you may leave." Hiashi said in a dismissive tone.

"I think I'll stay. Go ahead with your conversation. Just act like I'm not even here." Kakashi responded with his usual eye smile, though it held no humor at all.

Hiashi's expression darkened slightly. The council had just received a toad summon from Jiraiya stating that they would be arriving within the day and that the mission was a success. He knew that when Tsunade returned she would heal Kurenai and he would have lost his chance at convincing Hinata to rejoin the clan as she would no longer be as vulnerable as she was now.

"Have you come to a decision Hinata?" Hiashi asked calmly.

"As I have told you for the past week I need more time to think on it." Hinata responded in annoyance.

"Time is running out. Soon you will not have the opportunity and whatever happens to the Uzumaki after that will be out of your hands to prevent." Hiashi said sternly.

Hiashi didn't have time to listen to Hinata's response as Kakashi made his presence known.

"That sounded suspiciously like a threat Hiashi. You wouldn't be threatening a former student of mine would you?" Kakashi asked in his normal jovial tone, which did nothing to hide the dangerous look in his eye.

"Just as I told Yuhi-san, I make no threats. I am simply informing." Hiashi said simply.

"Well you have your answer, leave." Kakashi said as his tone finally reflected his expression.

"Very well. I expect your answer by the end of the day Hinata." Hiashi said as he left.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei." Hinata said with a relieved expression.

"No problem Hinata. Kurenai and Naruto would have my head if I allowed you to face him alone." Kakashi said in a comforting tone as she sat down beside Hinata. He wouldn't leave until she did.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Sakura watched sadly as Lee continued to rest in his hospital bed. His injuries hadn't been very severe, but the doctor's weren't able to do anything with his right arm. It was the same arm that had been pierced by Gaara's spear. It seemed that when the spear went in, it also expanded tearing muscle tissue and cracking the bone in numerous places. It would take someone of Tsunade's talent to completely heal the limb.

'All of this because of me. I'm so sorry Lee-kun." Sakura thought with tears beginning to gather in her eyes. She felt useless. She told herself that she would become stronger yet she still had to relay of others to help her out of tough situations. She felt that all she could do was watch as her friends put themselves in harm's way while she stood and watched because she wasn't strong enough.

'I will improve myself!' Sakura thought fiercely as she whipped Lee's forehead of sweat. Lee had been in the hospital since the third round of the chunin exams as the pain in his right shoulder was excruciating and continuous. When awake, he would always be in pain and would be unable to move as the slightest movement sent cascades of pain up and down his arm.

"How is he?"

Sakura didn't need to turn around to know that Gai was behind her. Gai like her had visited every day and they normally sat and she listened as Gai told her about when he first met Lee and how he had improved under Gai's influence. She found out that she and Lee had a lot in common. Both were considered weak and useless at the early stages of their ninja careers. Both were told that they were burdens and both were picked on at young ages. Lee had felt the need to prove to himself and others that he would become a great ninja, with taijutsu alone.

'That was Lee's motivation to better himself. What's mine?' Sakura wondered as Gai turned to leave.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Be careful Choji!" Ino said as Choji attempted to get out of bed again.

"Come on Ino. I've been in bed since the invasion. I want to do something." Choji complained.

"And you'll stay in that bed until you're fully healed." Ino said with a tone that left no room for negotiation.

Kankuro's antidote had expelled the poison from Choji's body, but the poison had left his muscles in a state of atrophy. He was confined to his bed until his muscles were able to completely regain their strength. Ino had been by everyday to check up on Choji and had enforced the rule that he couldn't leave the bed. Choji was happy that Ino was showing concern for him and seemed to truly care about his state of health, but he did wish she wouldn't worry so much.

"I'll be fine Ino. Come on, how is my body going to regain its strength if I lie here all day?" Choji asked in an attempt to reason with her. However, Choji knew in his heart that reason was never going to work on Ino when she had made up her mind about something.

"I don't know I guess we'll find out as you aren't leaving this bed Choji." Ino said with a smile as she sat down beside Choji.

Choji decided to stop wasting his breath and lay back down. Truth be told, he was still very unsteady on his feet. He just hated the feeling of uselessness.

'Still there are some good to have come of it.' Choji thought as his gaze feel on Ino. She was finally showing him attention and best of all he could tell that she was actually concerned about him.

'Maybe I have a chance with her after all.' Choji thought as he relaxed on the bed.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Shino walked down the street with Haku at his side. Despite his assurances, she seemed determined to not leave his side in fear something would happen to him.

"Haku-chan we are inside of the village. What could possibly happen to me?" Shino asked, his tone becoming slightly exasperated.

"You could trip and break a leg, or you could have something fall on your head, or you could…" Haku continued.

"Haku-chan." Shino said as he stopped walking.

Haku stopped as well though she failed to turn and face him.

"I don't want something to happen to you Shino. Do you have any idea what I felt when I saw that jonin go in for the kill?" Haku asked softly as her shoulders seemed to shake softly.

Understanding that she was crying, Shino wrapped her in a hug. He waited for her to calm down, while sending glares at any villager that looked at the exchange strangely. Shino was not one for public displays of affection, but he refused to allow her to be in pain without him comforting her because of his insecurities.

"I can't lose you." Haku said softly into his chest.

"You won't" Shino assured her.

"How can you be so sure?" Haku asked.

"Do you believe Naruto when he says he will become Hokage?" Shino asked.

"Yes." Haku replied.

"Then believe in me Haku-chan. You will not lose me. I will always be there for you." Shino said as he used one of his hands to gently tilt her face towards his. Haku could see the small smile on Shino's face that seemed to be exclusive only to her.

"I believe you." Haku said happily.

"Haku-san, Shino-san!"

Haku and Shino turned to see Hinata walking towards them.

"Hinata, how are you?" Shino asked in concern.

"I'll be okay." Hinata said with a small smile.

"Would you like to join us? We are on our way to get something to eat." Haku said sweetly. Hinata was her first female friend and she wanted to catch up with her.

"I would like that." Hinata said as the all started walking towards the ramen stand. It seems that spending time with Naruto had permanently changed their taste buds to love ramen, though they didn't eat it nearly as much as Naruto did.

Shino suddenly stopped and tilted his head to the side.

"Who is it?" Haku asked recognizing Shino's stance as the one he normally assumed when someone carrying one of his insects approached.

"Naruto. He is coming through the gates." Shino replied.

"We will have to run to catch up with Hinata." Haku said as they both saw the large dust cloud Hinata had left in her wake as she ran full speed towards the gates.

Haku turned her head towards Shino swiftly when she heard a strange sound. Shino simply followed Hinata's trail, not acknowledging Haku's look.

'If I didn't know better, I would swear I just heard Shino laugh.' Haku thought as she ran to catch up to him.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto was walking with Tsunade, telling her all about his past battles and experiences. Shizune was walking behind them with Tonton, laughing at Naruto's antics. Jiraiya brought up the rear with a smile on his face.

'You would have been so proud Minato.' Jiraiya thought.

"You really are something aren't you Naru-chan?" Tsunade said with a small laugh of her own.

Naruto just laughed as he scratched the back of his head when they all saw a dust cloud fast approaching.

'What's that?' They all wondered.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled as she slammed into the stunned ninja.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"I'm so happy you're back!" Hinata said with a smile of pure relief on her face as she pulled Naruto into a deep kiss.

Naruto's brain effectively shut down and his arms wound themselves around her waist as he returned the kiss with equal passion. They both reveled in the feel of the other's lips. The kiss comforted both of them of their worries and for that brief moment, nothing else mattered except the person in their arms.

"Ahem."

Both genin broke the kiss and turned to look at the grinning Tsunade, the shocked Shizune, and the perverted smile of Jiraiya.

"Um Hinata-chan this is Shizune and Tsunade." Naruto said with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Tsunade?!" Hinata said in surprise as she jumped off of Naruto and quickly bowed to the slug sannin.

"None of that. It's nice to meet you Hinata. Naru-chan has told me so much about you." Tsunade said with a smile that told Naruto that he was about to be paid back for calling her Baa-chan so many times before.

"He has?" Hinata asked in surprise at the way Tsunade referred to Naruto.

"It's nothing Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled as he got up and tried to stop Tsunade.

"Nothing? But what about all those sweet things you said about her? Like that she was nice and funny and kind." Tsunade said with a devious smile.

"S-Shut up!" Naruto said with a large blush on his face.

"You really said all of that Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked with a smile.

Naruto simply nodded as he didn't trust his voice currently. Hinata wrapped Naruto in a hug. She was so happy that he was back. She had felt like a wire being wrapped tighter and tighter from stress. Having Naruto back was like a refreshing breath of fresh air.

"I'm so happy you're back Naruto-kun." Hinata said softly.

Naruto was very in tuned with Hinata's moods and could tell that something was bothering her.

"What's wrong Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

Hinata's eyes watered as she told him about what had been happening over the past few weeks.

"Kurenai-sensei is hurt?!" Naruto asked in anger.

"Yes, and she still hasn't woken up." Hinata responded in a tone of despair.

"We can change that." Tsunade said suddenly.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Don't' tell me you forgot that I'm the best medic in the world Naru-chan." Tsundae said with a comforting smile.

"I didn't forget. Thanks a lot!" Naruto said with a small smile of his own.

"You know the council wants to see you immediately." Jiraiya said with a look of annoyance at the thought of the meddling civilian council.

"Those old idiots can wait. I have someone precious to Naru-chan to help first. That's what a Hokage must do right Naru-chan?" Tsunade said as she walked towards the hospital.

"That's right!" Naruto said as he grabbed Hinata's hand and they all walked towards the hospital.

Along the way, Naruto met up with Haku and Shino and after introductions were completed they all walked together towards the hospital.

Along the way, the villagers were confused by the strange group. They were happy to see Tsunade back in the village with Jiraiya in tow. It assured them that their village was still strong, despite the losses during the recent invasion. They scowled when they saw Naruto with the group, but this quickly changed when Tsunade threatened a villager who had spoken the words "demon child" too loudly. That she was quickly backed up by Jiraiya gave the villagers something to think about in regards to Naruto.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Tsunade wasted no time and headed directly to Kurenai's room. They were all surprised, except for Hinata, to see Kakashi at Kurenai's bedside.

"Kakashi-sensei what are you doing here?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Oh I see you're back Naruto. I knew that if anyone could bring Tsunade back it would be you." Kakashi said with a smile as he stood aside.

Tsunade walked towards Kurenai and placed a hand on her head.

"What happened to her?" Tsunade asked.

"Itachi Uchiha happened." Kakashi said with a mixture of anger and sadness in his voice.

"Uchiha?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Sasuke's brother." Jiraiya elaborated.

"That clan is really starting to annoy me." Naruto said with an angered look.

They all waited as Tsunade's hand glowed green and Kurenai's eyes slowly opened.

"Sensei!" team eight cried in relief as they all rushed towards her side.

"Hey, what happened?" Kurenai said with a smile at her teams concern for her.

"You have been in a coma for a few weeks after a run in with Itachi Uchiha." Tsunade said as she read Kurenai's chart.

"I remember now. I can't believe that I fell for a genjutsu." Kurenai said with an annoyed expression.

"Don't worry about it. That you came away alive at all is impressive." Kakashi said in a comforting tone.

"Kakashi? What are you doing here?" Kurenai asked in surprise.

"I'm not allowed to visit a comrade of mine in the hospital?" Kakashi said with a smile.

"Careful Kakashi, some might think that you actually care for me." Kurenai responded with a smile of her own.

"What? I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. How else will you be able to cook be a three meal dinner?" Kakashi said in a nonchalant tone.

"If you two are done flirting, then I have other rounds to make." Tsunade said with a smile as the two jonin blushed slightly.

Kurenai looked towards her team and paled slightly when she saw the look Hinata was giving her. It was a look that promised retribution for the way Kurenai teased her and Naruto. Naruto had a knowing smile and even Shino seemed to have a slightly smug look on his face, not that it was terribly visible.

'Oh boy. I am going to hear about this for a long time.' Kurenai thought with a grimace at the grinning faces of her team.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Hey Sakura." Ino said as she walked up to her best friend. Both were standing in the hallway about to leave for the day.

"Came to see Choji?" Sakura asked, though the answer was already known.

"Yeah, he keeps trying to move before his body is ready. I have to be here almost all the time to make sure he doesn't hurt himself." Ino said in a huff, though her tone had a slight warmth to it.

"I know what you mean. Lee-kun is always in pain when he wakes up but he instantly tries to get out of bed and train. He says that he has to redeem himself as he wasn't able to avenge me against Gaara. He just can't accept that he doesn't have to do that! It's my fault for not being strong enough. I don't want him to hurt himself trying to defend me all the time. I'm supposed to be a ninja." Sakura said in a dejected tone.

Before Ino could reply, both turned when they heard a large commotion from a group of doctors that were walking by them.

"Can you believe that Tsunade-sama has returned?" One asked in awe.

"I know it's said that she is the best medic the world has ever seen." His colleague answered in a similar tone.

"Tsunade? The Tsunade is here?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Isn't she one of the legendary sannin?" Ino asked.

"That's right! If she's here then she can help Lee-kun!" Sakura said loudly as she rushed off to find Tsunade.

"Hey wait up!" Ino said as she rushed to catch up with her.

Tsunade was currently standing with Shizune in the hospital records. She wanted to get an idea of how the hospital had been run since she was away.

"What do you think Shizune?" Tsunade asked her assistant.

"It seems that this hospital's standards are lowering. They are having problems with some conditions that should be easily fixed." Shizune replied in a disappointed tone.

"I agree. It looks like you have a lot of work to do here." Tsunade said.

"Me what about you?" Shizune asked.

"Hey I'm going to be the Hokage, which means that I won't have a lot of time to devout in the hospital. You have been my assistant for years and you are a great medic in your own right. You'll do fine." Tsunade reassured as they opened the door to leave.

"Tsunade-sama!"

They both turned to see a young female with bright pink hair running full speed towards them.

"Who are you?" Tsunade asked.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I have a friend that was hurt during the chunin exams. The doctors say they can't help him. Please can you take a look at him?" Sakura asked rapidly.

"Hey Sakura!" Ino yelled as she finally caught up with her friend.

'She's been hanging around Lee for too long.' Ino thought with a small pant. Sakura wasn't even winded from their long run. Sakura had been on a mission to find Tsunade and had run around the entire hospital in an attempt to find the women.

"I'm sure I could give him a quick look." Tsunade said with a small smile as she followed the girls.

"What about the council meeting?" Shizune asked.

"Let them wait." Tsunade said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Tsunade looked at Lee and shook her head at his injuries.

"These are severe, but nothing I can't handle. We really will have to do something about the doctors here Shizune." Tsunade said as she focused on Lee's arm. The process was slower than with Kurenai, but Lee's expression did soften and take a more relaxed look after Tsunade was finished.

"There he'll be fine now as long as he gets the proper rest." Tsunade said as she turned to leave.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama!" Sakura said with a teary smile as she sat beside Lee.

"Tsunade-sama, do you think you could help my friend as well?" Ino asked after Tsunade had left Lee's room.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Where is she?" One of the council members asked in annoyance. While they were happy that Tsunade had returned, they also didn't enjoy having to wait for her.

"She'll be here. Be patient." Jiraiya answered as he leaned against the wall in a stance of nonchalance.

Suddenly the door opened and Tsunade walked in with a stance of authority and power.

"Nice of you to join us Tsunade." The same council member said in the same annoyed tone.

"I had matters to attend to." Tsunade said dismissively.

"If you are to be Hokage then you should make time to meet with us." The council man said.

"Oh? If I am Hokgae then that means you should make time for _me._ Not the other way around." Tsunade said with a smile that told the council man to back off before she forced him to.

"This is a moot point. Tsunade's here. Let's get on with it." Shikaku said in a bored tone.

"Quite right Nara-san. There is much to discuss." Danzo said in agreement.

"Very well." Tsunade said as she sat in the Hokage's chair after taking a moment to contemplate the large step she was taking in her life.

'Dan-kun, Nawaki-kun, are you smiling down on me right now?' Tsunade thought before she sat down.

"We recently had a discussion on one of our ninja." Hiashi opened.

"Who was this ninja?" Tsunade asked, though she had a very good idea.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Hiashi said evenly.

"What about him?" Tsunade asked in a critical tone. Many were surprised to hear such a tone.

"He wields a very special sword. It has shown the ability to summon dragons and could be a very large asset to the village if we were to take it from him and study it." One of the civilian council members said.

"No." Tsunade said simply.

"No what?" The council member asked.

"No as in you won't be taking anything from him." Tsunade said simply.

"But think of what it could mean for the village. Besides the boy doesn't deserve such a weapon. It belongs in the hands of a trustworthy ninja." The council member said.

He quickly learned his mistake when the killing intent in the room jumped up. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shibi, Chouza, Inoichi, Tsume, and even Shikaku were glaring at the council member.

"Watch what you say about one of my ninja." Tsunade said in a deadly tone.

"The motion was held to a tie. But it seems that you are against it. Thus I believe that we should focus on more important information." Danzo said.

This instantly put Tsunade and Jiraiya on guard. According to Naruto, Danzo had been the main advocate that is sword be taken away from him. That he switched so quickly without so much as a fight was very suspicious.

"And what business is that Danzo?" Tsunade asked.

"The business of where he obtained the weapon. No one in Konoha could have given it to the boy. My sources lead me to believe that Naruto has been receiving aid from a source outside of the village. If we could have this source brought before us then we could have him show us how the weapon was forged." Danzo said.

"I doubt that will happen."

The council members turned to see Naruto walking through the doors.

"What are you doing here brat!" one of the civilian council members made the mistake of saying.

"He is here because I ordered him to come." Tsunade said in a deathly serious tone.

"If you wouldn't mind me asking, why do you doubt that it would happen?" Danzo asked in a calm tone.

"Even I don't know who he is or where he comes from. I doubt anyone would be able to find him unless he wants to be found." Naruto answered.

"But he does appear to you, thus all we have to do is have you showed until he makes an appearance." Danzo said with a soft smile.

"I forbid it!" Tsunade said quickly.

"I believe it should go to the council to make that decision." Danzo said.

"Wrong! He is a ninja of the village and thus under my authority. Obviously this person helping Naruto is of no danger to the village and thus I will not do anything that may make him one." Tsunade said in a tone that left no argument.

"Very well." Danzo said after a moment of silence.

"If that's the reason that you all called me here then meet adjourned." Tsunade said as the council members began to leave.

"One more thing!" Tsunade said to halt their departure.

"Naru-chan is the very reason that I came back to this village. Any more discrimination against him will not be tolerated. I know about the way the villagers treated him and I will have no more of it. Understood?" Tsunade asked in a tone that suggested they answer correctly.

"Understood, Hokage-sama." The shinobi clan heads answered assuredly, all having smiles on their faces save Hiashi.

"Understood." The civilian council members answered as well, though with great reluctance.

"Understood." Danzo answered smoothly as he left.

"Thanks." Naruto said to Tsunade.

"No problem Naru-chan." Tsunade said with a deep sigh of exhaustion.

"I now see why Sarutobi-sensei always smoked in here. These meeting can get very stressful." Tsunade said.

"I wonder how Danzo found out about your friend." Jiraiya said in a troubled tone.

"I do to. The only way he could have found out is he already had you followed Naru-chan." Tsunade replied.

"I have the feeling that he knows that. But if I'm being followed then he must know about Makaze. Why didn't he bring him up during the meeting?" Naruto asked. He knew that the civilian council was against him and that had Danzo mention that then he would have been in real trouble.

"I can only assume it's because we could call his source into question. Danzo was over a branch of anbu called root. If we could prove that it was a root anbu following you then we could have him brought on charges of treason as the Third ordered him to disband root years ago. Also, having a ninja trailed without the consent of the Hokage is also a capital offense. He was most likely saving his own hide." Jiraiya speculated.

"One can never be sure when Danzo is the one in question. Just be careful Naru-chan." Tsunade replied with a sigh.

"I will. I have to go now. I need to meet up with Anko-neesan and Iruka-niisan to tell them all that's been going on." Naruto answered as he turned and left.

"I have a feeling that things are going to be interesting for a while Tsunade. The civilian council is still out for Naruto's blood and I don't like the way Hiashi and Danzo keep looking at him." Jiraiya said.

"Will he ever be free of danger to live a normal life?" Tsunade asked in a sad tone.

"Probably not." Jiraiya answered in a sad tone as well.

"What should we do?" Tsunade asked.

"Keep doing what you're doing. Look out for him here from within the village and I'll look out for him from forces outside of the village." Jiraiya said as he turned to leave.

"You're not going to stick around?" Tsunade asked.

"I need to look into the Akatsuki. If they have Itachi Uchiha under their belt then they will be a force to be reckoned with." Jiraiya said as he walked out the door.

'First day on the job and already I'm ready for a shot of sake.' Tsunade thought with a sigh.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto had just finished meeting up with Iruka and Anko and was walking to his apartment. Other than the council meeting, he thought the day had gone well. Tsunade had returned, Kurenai was okay and Hinata was feeling pressured anymore.

'All in all it was a good day.' Naruto thought as he entered his apartment. Naruto was instantly on guard when he entered his apartment. Something was wrong, he could feel it.

Naruto's hunch was proven correct when he had to jump back and avoid a kunai thrown at his head. He brought his sword out and blocked the downward strike of a blade. He couldn't make out his opponent's identity. He had on all black and a ninja mask covering all but his eyes.

"Who are you?!" Naruto yelled as he leapt outside.

The figure didn't answer as he continued to viciously attack Naruto. Naruto was hard pressed to counter every blow coming his way. He blocked an overhead strike, only to receive a kick to the chest. Naruto flipped back and created two shadow clones.

'How can this be going on and no one is noticing it!' Naruto thought as he and the figure continued to battle throughout the village. Every civilian they passed seemed to not notice the battle. Even seasoned shinobi paid no mind to the battle. Naruto was driven to the training field and prepared himself. Now that he wasn't in the middle of the village, he didn't have to worry about collateral damage. He turned as his two clones were swiftly dispatched. The silent figure walked calmly towards Naruto, his eyes never blinking.

"**Dragon Strike!**" Naruto yelled as he unleashed his attack. The golden dragon shaped blast flew towards the opponent in a roar and slammed into him.

Naruto covered his eyes from the subsequent explosion and slowly walked towards the crater created after his attack had landed.

"Too slow." Naruto heard from behind him as he felt his opponent's blade pierce him through the chest.

Naruto fell to the ground in shock and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"I expected more." The figure said softly as he plunged his blade into Naruto heart.

Naruto awoke in a cold sweat.

'What the heck was that?!' He thought as he felt his undamaged chest.

"It seems I overestimated your current abilities."

Naruto looked up to see the mysterious man at the foot of his bed.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"I am surprised you died so quickly. That is troubling." The figure said in a tone that inplied he was talking more to himself than to Naruto.

"What is your problem?!" Naruto yelled.

Naruto quickly shut up when he felt the tip of a blade held against his chest. He looked up at the mysterious man who now held the same sword that his opponent in his dream had held.

"All I have to do is extend this blade and you will be dead." He said softly.

"You need to get stronger Naruto. I shouldn't have been able to defeat you so quickly." He said as he put the blade away and turned to leave.

"That was all a test?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Next time it might not be. You are the wielder of the blade, but another can be found if you are unable to do what must be done." He said as he disappeared.

Naruto sighed in annoyance. Now he had another thing to worry about.

'Do what must be done? What's he mean by that?' Naruto thought in confusion.

"That is a secret!" The man said from behind Naruto, causing the blonde ninja to fall down.

"Are you telling me that you will take the blade from me unless I can complete some task?" Naruto asked.

"No I am telling you that in the future you will have to make difficult decisions. You don't have the strength of will right now to make them and I hope that changes quickly, or dtrastic measures will be taken." He replied as he disappeared.

'I wonder what fighting him has to do with anything.' Naruto thought as he got up to meet his team. They were going to be given their very first mission together.

'I'll deal with this later.' Naruto thought as he turned to leave. As Naruto walked towards the Hokage's Manor he was being watched by the same man.

'No Naruto you will deal with it very, very soon.' He thought.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Here's chapter 33. Hope you liked it. Naruto's strength of will is being question by his mysterious friend. Why? What purpose must he fulfill? What will happen on team eight's first mission? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

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Naruto walked out of his home in a contemplative state. He wondered why it was so vital that his strength increase.

'Also, what did he mean that my will was weak?' Naruto thought. However, he shook it off as he walked towards the Hokage Tower for his first mission with team eight. He was slightly anxious to finally go on a mission with his teammates.

Naruto was broken from his thoughts when he saw Hinata standing in the street. This normally wouldn't have meant much to him until he noticed that she was having a conversation with Hiashi. The Hyuga clan head was talking to Hinata and by her body language Naruto could tell that she was not happy about what the Hyuga leader had to say.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" Naruto said joyfully as he walked up to her, completely ignoring Hiashi's presence.

"Good morning Naruto-kun." She replied with obvious relief in her eyes.

"Uzumaki." Hiashi said coldly.

"Hiashi." Naruto responded.

"That's Hiashi-sama to you boy." Hiashi said with a stern expression.

"That title is one of respect and you've earned none of mine." Naruto responded with a stern expression of his own.

Hinata could see that this was quickly going to escalate unless she did something.

"Hiashi-sama I have made my decision." Hinata said calmly.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Hiashi asked.

"I am sorry, but I will not return to the clan. I am content with my life as is." Hinata said softly, but with determination in her eyes.

"I am very sorry to hear that. I'm afraid that that was your last chance, good day." Hiashi said as he walked away.

Naruto and Hinata shivered slightly at Hiashi's tone. His last statement seemed to hold much more meaning to it than a simple goodbye. To Naruto, it felt as if the Hyuga leader had been speaking to someone he didn't plan on seeing ever again.

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Tsunade looked up and smiled when she saw Naruto walk in with Hinata. The young ninja had truly grown on her and they were incredibly comfortable around one another.

'Another plus is that he no longer calls me Baa-chan.' Tsunade thought as her smiled widened when she saw the two genin in front of her were holding hands. Her smile dimmed when she saw their expressions.

"What happened?" Tsunade asked. She had grown to recognize Naruto's mood changes and what they meant. He was more reserved than usual and seemed to be in deep thought. That only happened when something had happened to him that he didn't understand and the situation was dire enough to warrant his concern.

"We just left a brief talk with Hiashi." Naruto said.

"I'm sure that it was unpleasant if your expressions are anything to go by." Tsunade said.

"Don't worry about Hiashi. Now that I'm Hokage he won't be able to harass you two." Tsunade said in a reassuring tone.

"Thanks a lot!" Naruto said happily.

They all turned to the door as Shino walked in.

"Hokage-sama, Naruto, Hinata." Shino said softly.

"Hey Shino you ready for our first mission?" Naruto asked.

"I'm always prepared for a mission." Shino replied calmly.

"So I guess we have to wait for Kurenai-nee-san to come." Hinata said.

"Not true." Tsunade said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Due to the losses in the previous invasion, most of our jonin are on high level missions. Thus you all will not be with Kurenai this time." Tsunade said.

"Then who is going to lead the team?" Hinata asked.

"That would be me."

Naruto and Hinata were surprised to see Haku walk in her chunin attire. Shino had a slight smile on his face, revealing that he at least knew Haku was close by and had deduced the reason for her presence.

"Haku?!" Naruto said in surprise.

"Hello Naruto, Hinata, Shino-kun." Haku said with a soft smile on her face.

"Haku is a chunin and this mission is B-ranked. Normally I would send a jonin for this mission, but I have confidence in your team." Tsunade said as she handed Haku the scroll detailing the mission. She was slightly surprised when Haku promptly handed the scroll to Shino.

"A wise leader listens to those he leads. I trust Shino's judgment." Haku said in response to Tsunade's unvoiced question.

"It says that we are to guide and protect two siblings back to their home." Shino said.

"That's right. They are next in line to lead their country. It's a relatively small country bordering both Konoha and the rain village. Be careful of rogue ninja." Tsunade said.

"Don't worry about it! We'll take any and everyone out that stands in our way." Naruto said with the utmost confidence. All present parties smiled at Naruto's complete trust in his team's abilities.

"Where are the siblings we are to protect?" Hinata asked.

"They should be here very soon." Tsunade said as she took out a small bottle of sake.

"Hey you shouldn't be drinking in here!" Naruto said in annoyance.

"Shut it! Do you have any idea how much paperwork you have to go through when you're the Hokage? You are going to need some kind of stress relief. Why do you think Sarutobi-sensei smoked all the time?" Tsunade asked as she took a small sip.

Naruto was stopped from answering when the door opened and the members of team eight turned to look at the newcomers.

The two young women that came in the room were very beautiful. They appeared to be around 16 years old and were almost identical in height and build.

'They're cute, but they've got nothing on Haku-chan.'

'They're cute, but they've got nothing on Hinata-chan.' Shino and Naruto thought respectively.

"Emi, Ami these are the ninja that are going to be protecting you and taking you back to your country." Tsunade said calmly.

Team eight took a moment to observe the young women they were to protect. Emi had long black hair that stopped at about her mid back. She had bright green eyes and was a little taller than Shino. Ami had long red hair that also stopped at her mid back. She had pale blue eyes and was the exact same height as her sister. Except for the hair and eyes, the two of them were almost identical. However, they were completely different when it came to the cloths they wore. Emi wore a beautiful forest green kimono that brought out her bright green eyes. Ami on the other hand wore more casual clothing that consisted of a pair of stylish beige slacks and a simple light blue long sleeved shirt. There was one thing that they had in common other than their looks and that was that both had a necklace. Emi's necklace seemed to be the shape of waves of water, while Ami's necklace was in the shape of a flute.

They looked at team eight and a gleam appeared in both of their eyes at the same time. Naruto and Shino both shivered under the twins stares and got a very large feeling of foreboding.

"You're cute!" Ami said she walked straight up to Naruto and gave him a glaring smile. She didn't seem to notice the glare being sent her way courtesy of Hinata.

"I am Emi Hakuda, it is a please to make your acquaintance." Emi said to Shino politely, though the gleam in her eye had yet to fade. She also seemed to be unaware of the glare being given to her from Haku.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you approve of this team. The mission will begin immediately. Emi, Ami please go and ready your things. Team eight will be waiting at the gate for you." Tsunade said, her expression never changing despite the obvious tension in the room.

"Very well Hokage-sama." Emi said softly with a bow as she turned to leave.

"See you later cutie!" Ami said to Naruto as she followed her sister out of the room.

'I have a bad feeling about this mission.' Both Naruto and Shino thought simultaneously. They both turned to their female teammates and flinched when they saw the duel glares being sent to the door the sisters had just left from.

"Shino-kun."

"Naruto-kun."

"Yes?" both boys asked with a hint of fear in their voices.

"You had better keep your hands to yourself!" Both girls responded in anger as they exited the room and slammed the door shut.

"You did this on purpose didn't you?" Naruto said with an accusing stare at Tsunade.

"I am deeply shocked and wounded that you would think so little of me Naru-chan." Tsunade said with a smile that proved that she had indeed set this up.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure that this was a wise decision?" Shino asked.

Both Naruto and Tsunade turned their shocked expressions to Shino. For him, that was the same as any other person shouting that she was insane in her face.

"Don't worry so much. I'm sure that you two will be able to handle yourselves accordingly." Tsunade said with a reassuring smile.

"Easy for you to say." Naruto muttered as he and Shino turned to leave.

"Shino, do you have any idea what we are going to do about this?" Naruto asked in hope.

"We keep our hands to ourselves, we don't get caught alone with the sisters and we take extra medical supplies." Shino said simply.

"Extra medical supplies? You mean in case we get ambushed by enemy ninja?" Naruto asked.

"No. I want the extra supplies in case we end up alone with one of the sisters and either Haku-chan or Hinata find us." Shino said with a small hint of fear in his voice.

'Oh boy, this is going to be a long mission.' Naruto thought unhappily.

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Shino and Naruto arrived at the village gates and their hopes that Hinata and Haku had calmed down were short lived if the females' fierce expressions were anything to go by.

"Hey Hinata-chan, ready for the mission?" Naruto said with an awkward shift of his shoulders. He could feel the anger rolling off of Hinata and was not in any rush to have the anger directed at him. He looked over and saw that Shino was not doing any better with trying to consol Haku.

"Come on Hinata-chan, why are you so upset?" Naruto asked.

"Why do you think?! Did you see the way she was looking at you?!" Hinata responded angrily.

"I did, but a bigger question is whether or not you trust me." Naruto said calmly.

"What? Of course I trust you Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a confused look on her face.

"If you trust me than what she does shouldn't really matter. I certainly am not going to respond to her advances." Naruto said in a reassuring manner.

"I already know that Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"Then why are you so upset?" He asked in confusion.

"I don't like anyone looking at you like a side of beef to be devoured." Hinata said with conviction.

"That goes double for me." Haku said.

"Regardless, we must put these things aside to accomplish the mission. Naruto and I will talk to them when they arrive and tell them that we are flattered but not interested." Shino said as he reached out to give Haku's hand a firm and reassuring touch.

"I'm with you all the way Shino." Naruto said as he gave Hinata a hug.

The boys relaxed when Hinata and Haku visibly calmed down.

"Hey cutie!" Ami yelled as she and her sister walked up to the ninja.

Naruto felt Hinata stiffen in his arms.

"It is nice to see you again Shino-san." Emi said as she walked up to Shino.

Shino could practically feel the temperature around Haku drop a few degrees, showing her anger.

"I think that it is time to go." Shino said calmly as Haku walked ahead to clear things up with the guards.

"I agree. How should we organize ourselves?" Naruto asked.

"You and Shino will be in front, the sisters will be in the middle and Hinata and I will take up the rear." Haku said calmly.

"Agreed." Shino said as he and Naruto walked ahead of them and let the females bring up the rear.

"Emi." Haku said stopping the girl.

"Yes?" The jade eyed twin asked.

"I would appreciate it if you would not make any more advances on Shino-kun." Haku said.

"That goes double for me Ami." Hinata said.

"Oh? And just who are you, his girlfriend?" Ami asked in a challenging tone.

"As a matter of fact I am." Hinata said with a flash of anger in her eyes.

"I apologize Haku-san. I didn't know he was your boyfriend." Emi said with a small bow as she turned to follow the boys.

"Yeah, sorry." Ami said as she followed her sister.

"I think that went well." Haku said.

"You really think so?" Hinata asked with a look of disbelief.

"Yes. Why?" Haku asked in confusion.

"They apologized, but never said they would stop." Hinata said as her gaze hardened.

"Oh. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on things then won't we?" Haku said as her gaze hardened as well.

"Yes we will." Hinata said as they turned to follow their clients.

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"Hey Shino." Naruto said in an attempt to gain the silent Aburame's attention.

"Yes?" Shino responded.

"I want to ask you how you are feeling about this how mission." Naruto said as he turned to look behind him and saw Ami catch his eye and give him a bright smile. Though Hinata was behind Ami, she still seemed to sense the interaction and gave Naruto a look of warning.

"I think that our comrade Shikamaru sums it up best. It is very troublesome." Shino responded as he too turned around and was given the same smile from Emi and the same look of warning from Haku.

"I still don't see why Hinata-chan and Haku keep giving us those looks. I wouldn't think of ever being with some else." Naruto said as he tried to wrap his head around the girl's behavior.

"Naruto, let me ask you this. If some random boy were to suddenly walk up to Hinata and began making advances on her what would you do?" Shino asked calmly.

"Break his face." Naruto responded automatically. His eyes widened and a sheepish grin appeared on his face when he finally saw Shino's point.

"It's exactly the same thing with Hinata and Haku-chan. They trust us, but are naturally defensive when someone tries to stake a claim on us." Shino said.

"That's why you're so calm about this." Naruto said.

"Exactly." Shino responded.

"Thanks for clearing that up. You want to tell me more about this mission?" Naruto asked.

"We are going to a small country that borders the rain village and the leaf village. As you know the rain village have been in a constant state of civil war for some time and thus this small village has come to konoha to ask to an alliance to protect them should one of the warring factions seek to expand their power by attacking and enslaving this country." Shino explained.

"How has the country avoided invasion so far? The rain village has been in a state of civil war for a long time." Naruto said.

"Details are sketchy about that. All Emi and Ami said about it was that they had a protector that defended their country." Shino responded.

"So we have to watch out for rain village renegades." Naruto clarified.

"Yes." Shino responded simply.

"How long until we get to this country?" Naruto asked.

"It is a few days walk from here. We will have to stop for the night at an inn." Shino said.

Having nothing else to talk about, Naruto simply kept his eyes and senses alert for any sign of danger. He couldn't help but feel that Emi and Ami were hiding something from them. He didn't know why but when he first laid his eyes on the girls' necklaces, he was sure he had felt a surge of some emotion from his sword as well as from the seal that contained Kyuubi.

The group remained silent for the duration of the journey until the sun began to set and they came across a small town. Deciding to settle down for the night, they all went to check into the local inn.

"How many rooms will you need?" The kid, elderly women asked them from behind the desk.

"Three." Haku responded.

Things had calmed down every since the girls had had their talk. Emi and Ami settled with affectionate looks towards Naruto and Shino, and thus Hinata and Haku were able to hold back their anger. However, this small measure of peace was broken when Emi and Ami made their suggestions for roommates.

"I request Shino to be in a room with me." Emi said politly.

"Yeah and I want to be in the same room with the cutie!" Ami said brashly.

"Oh? And why is that?" Haku asked with a small smile that did nothing to soften the steel evident in her tone. Hinata looked ready to loudly, and violently, deny Ami's request.

"I would feel much safer if he were to be by my side to protect me." Emi said calmly.

"Same thing goes for me!" Ami said as she gave Naruto another look.

"I believe that Hinata and I can protect you just as well as our teammates." Haku said as the smile left her face and a small amount of her anger began to appear.

"Be that as it may, I still request Shino." Emi said as her calm demeanor disappeared and her own annoyance began to surface.

"And if I refuse?" Haku asked as she took a step forward so that their faces were only inches apart.

"I accept." Shino said softly.

"What?!" Haku, Hinata, and Naruto yelled.

"It is the best way to defuse any tension between our groups. As we are all going to have to travel a few more days together, I don't believe that this request needs to escalate any higher." Shino said in the same stoic tone he normally used. Haku, Hinata, and Naruto all could tell by Shino's posture that he was vastly unhappy about his choice, even if it was the logical one.

"I guess I'll do it as well." Naruto said, though his displeasure was clearly seen on his face.

"Oh don't be upset, cutie. I'm sure we'll have a nice time!" Ami said with a triumphant smile on her face. Emi also had a small smile on her face showing her feelings of victory.

Hinata was literally seeing red and found herself counting the numerous ways she could incapacitate Ami with a wide variety of blows. Haku was just as angered as Hinata, but being the team leader forced her to keep her emotion in check.

"We will retire for the night and start off first thing in the morning." Haku said calmly, though the look she was giving the sisters, and Emi especially could have melted steel.

"Understood." Emi said as she walked towards her room. Shino didn't say anything as he followed Emi, but Haku could feel the subtle buzz of Shino's insect that was always with her that revealed how upset Shino truly was.

Haku walked over to Hinata and grabbed her shoulder firmly. Hinata had activated her byakugan and her posture showed that she was seconds away from attacking Ami.

"Hinata, don't." Haku commanded.

"How can you just stand there and let them do this?!" Hinata yelled in anger and confusion.

"Shino is right. That this small country has been able to defend itself against the rain village for so long without any help is amazing and a treaty with them would be beneficial. Do you want to be the one to explain to Tsunade-sama why Emi and Ami have suddenly changed their minds and canceled the mission as well as the treaty? We just have to trust that Shino-kun and Naruto will behave themselves." Haku said calmly, though her grip betrayed how upset she truly was.

"Fine, but we will have to straighten them out soon." Hinata said as she stormed to their shared room.

Haku sighed. She was just as upset as Hinata and had Shino not have intervened then she would have been sorely tempted to attack Emi.

'I hope this mission ends very soon.' Haku thought as she followed Hinata.

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Shino sat in the far corner and waited for Emi to come out of the bathroom. While he waited, Shino's mind was currently trying to figure out what he was going to do. Shino was not easily intimidated, but he was very concerned with what would happen when Emi appeared. She obviously had some sort of attraction to him and now that they were virtually alone together, Shino found himself hoping that Emi didn't continue her advances.

Shino felt his insects begin to buzz in irritation at his anxious mood and took a deep breath. He calmed himself down by focusing on the insect that Haku always kept with her. Shino was able to tell from the insect's buzzing that Haku was not in the best of moods and Shino could do nothing about it.

'Until this mission is over, we will have to placate the sisters.' Shino thought.

Shino turned to the bathroom door when he heard the knob beginning to turn.

"Are you prepared for bed Shino?" Emi asked as she emerged. Shino was infinitely grateful for his glasses at that point as they hid his eyes that had widened at Emi cloths. Emi wore a simple night gown that was green in color and showed off her long smooth legs. However, this wasn't the problem. The problem was that the night gown was made of a very shear material that showed her dark undergarments. Shino made very sure that his eyes remained on Emi's face and didn't wander.

"I am." Shino said in his normal tone, though he was very uncomfortable about the situation.

"Very well. Are you sure you will be warm enough tonight?" Emi asked innocently as she settled in her bed.

While the question was worded innocently enough, Shino heard the unspoken invitation.

"I will be just fine." Shino said.

Emi didn't respond. She simply turned out the light in the room and settled down to sleep. Shino stood very still and waited until he was sure she was asleep. He settled into his own bed and released a few of his insects. Most went to the window and the door to stand watch against any enemies that may try to enter during the night. However, a few of them kept watch over Emi. These were not in place to make sure nothing happened to her, but to make sure that she didn't wake up in the middle of the night and try to do something to him. This thought kept Shino from a restful sleep for many hours.

'I wonder how Naruto is handling his situation.' Shino thought.

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'I wonder how Shino is handling his situation.' Naruto thought as he leaned against a wall as he waited for Ami to exist their bathroom. While Naruto couldn't deny that Ami was beautiful, his heart already belonged to Hinata. If he had any lingering doubts about his feelings for her or her's for him, they were immediately crushed when Hinata had tackled him at the village gates and kissed him with such intensity that his legs began to feel weak from just the memory alone.

'I can't wait until this mission is over, then we can go on a real date.' Naruto thought with a smile as he felt a peace come over his body at the thought of Hinata and himself on a date.

His peace was broken when he heard the bathroom door open and Ami appear. She was only wearing a large shirt that went to her thighs. Naruto could feel his face heat up in embarrassment and it grew worse as she walked up to him with a noticeable sway in her hips.

"What's wrong cutie?" She said softly, though her eyes revealed that she was very aware and pleased with his reaction.

"Nothing." Naruto said as he reigned in his embarrassment.

"Are you sure? You look awfully red." Ami said as she placed her hand on Naruto's forehead.

"I'm fine." Naruto said as he shook her hand off of his head and stepped away from her.

"Suit yourself." Ami said as she walked over to her bed and lied down.

Naruto took a deep breath and sat down with his back to the wall. He didn't like the situation and had a nasty thought that Tsunade knew that something like this was going to happen.

'If so then I'm going to have to have a talk with her later.' Naruto thought in irritation.

Naruto was ripped from his thoughts when something fell over his head. He pulled it off and realized that it was the large shirt that Ami had been wearing before. He turned quickly and saw her looking at him from under her sheets. He was very grateful that she had the sheets drawn all the way up under her chin.

"Sorry about that, but I don't really wear much when I sleep." Ami said with a smirk.

"Is that so?" Naruto said without showing any emotion. He was not going to give her the satisfaction of making him uncomfortable.

"If you want, you could keep me company tonight." Ami said as her smirk widened.

"Aren't I a little young for you?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry about that." Ami said.

"As flattering as your request is. I will have to decline." Naruto said stonily in hopes that she would get the message that he wasn't interested.

"Fine." Ami said as she turned over and turned out the light.

'I have a sinking suspicion that she isn't going to give up that easily.' Naruto thought in annoyance as he settled down in his bed and closed his eyes.

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Naruto awoke to find himself in his mindscape once again. With a grunt of annoyance he got up and walked to familiar path that would inevitably take him to his resident demon.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked as he got in front of the Kyuubi's cage.

"**To be free.**" Kyuubi responded simply.

"Okay, let me rephrase the question. What do you want that has an actual chance of happening?" Naruto said in anger.

"**To warn you.**" Kyuubi replyed.

"Warn me? Warn me about what?" Naruto asked.

"**When brought together, the pendants will tame the best of the sea.**" Kyuubi said softly.

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.

"**You have obviously noticed the two girl's pendants. Well those aren't just for show. I hope you are able to summon something much stronger than that weakling Drac. If not, well let's just say that things could be very messy.**" Kyuubi said as he settled down to rest.

"Maybe, I'll try and summon that lightening dragon you seem to fear." Naruto said in an attempt to rile up the demon.

"**Hahaha, you can try**." Kyuubi said without looking at Naruto.

Naruto turned to walk away but suddenly stopped. He turned and looked down the hallway that would take him to face his inner darkness.

"Did you know about him?" Naruto asked as he continued to look down the hallway.

"**I noticed his growth since the beginning.**" Kyuubi responded as his eyes opened and he too looked down the passage way.

"You didn't see fit to tell me?" Naruto asked in annoyance at the demon's cryptic ways.

"**Not really. I knew he would present himself when the time came and I was curious as to your reaction. If I would have told you then things wouldn't have turned out so humorously.**" Kyuubi replied with a grin.

Naruto didn't bother to say anything to the fox as he began to walk down the hallway. He stopped suddenly and turned to look at the fox.

"Are you going to try and set him free?" Naruto asked in suspicion.

"**This is your mind and he is a part of you. My influence is thwarted by your sword. Thus he will only be able to be free if your will weakens or if you let him out willingly.**" Kyuubi replied.

Naruto nodded his understanding and continued to walk down the hallway. He stopped at the door that led to the room that held Makaze and with a deep breath, opened the door. He walked in and was once again treated to the sight of Makaze sitting by the fireplace in his chair with a book in his hands.

"**What do you want?**" Makaze asked as he closed the book.

"Nothing really. I just want to ask how strong you are." Naruto said as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"**Why do you want to know? Is it because you plan on trying to overpower me and make sure I can never escape?**" Makase said in a mocking tone.

Naruto frowned as that was exactly what he was planning on doing.

"**I am much stronger than you Naruto. Try and fight me for dominance and you may very well find yourself imprisoned in our mind while I get to stretch my legs.**" Makaze said with a devilish grin.

"If that were the case then why don't you try and defeat me yourself?" Naruto asked as he shifted his stance in preparation for a possible attack.

"**Simple. As of right now, you are the dominate personality. I am only allowed to come out if your will weakens enough for me to overpower your control. That won't change unless you fight me. Then it won't be me trying to overpower your will, but a duel to the finish with the winner gaining control.**" Makaze said.

"So as long as I don't try and completely subjugate you then you will only be able to take control if I give it or if I am too weak to stop you?" Naruto asked in a hopeful tone.

"**Correct.**" Makaze said simply.

"Then I hope you get comfortable because I don't ever plan to let you out." Naruto said with a smile as he turned to leave.

Makaze didn't say anything as Naruto left and Naruto found himself afraid not at the silence but that during the entire conversation, Makaze hadn't lost his grin.

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"Is everything ready?" A dark figure asked as he and his group observed the inn.

"Hai. We will be prepared to attack whenever you command sir." one of the subordinates said.

"We attack tomorrow. Let's see just how strong these Konoha shinobi are." The figure said as the moonlight reflected off of his hidden rain headband.

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"Tell Danzo that he may do whatever he wishes with Hinata to accomplish his plans." Hiashi said to the root anbu that was at his door.

"Hai." The anbu said as he disappeared.

'If only you had accepted Hinata. Now you must face the consequences.' Hiashi thought as he turned to reenter his house.

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**Here's chapter 34. Sorry for the wait but this chapter was particularly difficult for me to write. How are Naruto and Shino going to ward off Emi and Ami's advances? Who are the mist ninja that are targeting team eight? What does Danzo have planned and how does Hiashi figure into it? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

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Shino awoke before Emi and got prepared for the day. He hoped that they reached the girl's country by the end of the day. They would have to keep a fast pace, but Shino thought that it was the best solution. He didn't think he could handle another day like the previous one. Emi had a strange infatuation for him and if his intuition was right then she was offering her bed to him last night.

'That will never happen.' Shino thought as he recalled his insects that had been standing guard. Shino stopped when a sudden idea came to him.

'Of course! Why didn't I think about doing this sooner?' Shino thought as Emi began to awaken. Shino quickly moved to put his plan into action. He unleashed a large number of insects onto Emi's bed and simply waited. If she was like all other women, save Hinata and Haku, she would freak out when she awoke to find a large number of insects on her body.

Emi awoke and instantly noticed the number of insects crawling on her.

"Where did all of these insects come from?" Emi asked in her normal calm tone. Her expression was not horrified or even surprised. She simply looked curious and intrigued.

"They came from within me. My clan specializes in insects and they dwell throughout my entire body." Shino said calmly, though he was hoping that her lack of response was simply a delayed reaction due to shock.

"They seem very interesting and must be very valuable for multiple purposes." Emi said calmly as she arose and walked to change in the bathroom.

Shino was stunned. He had never expected such a response. His insects sensed no chemical imbalance that would have revealed that she was lying. She truly was not repulsed by the insects.

'What am I going to do now?' Shino thought with a deep sigh.

"Are you prepared to leave Shino-san?' Emi asked as she emerged. Her clothes were once again very formal. She wore a forest green kimono that brought out her eyes. Shino admitted that she was very attractive, however to Shino her beauty paled in comparison to Haku. To Shino, Haku was a gift from Kami. She knew him, understood him, accepted him, and truly cared for him. Sometimes the depth of emotion Shino held for her scared him.

"I am. If we move quickly then we should be able to reach your country today." Shino replied.

"That is a good point." Emi said as she walked up to Shino with a noticeable sway in her hips.

Shino took a step back for every step that she took towards him. He soon found himself backed into a wall and could only watch as she drew nearer. The look on her face told Shino that he should swiftly find an exit.

"If this is to be our last day together than I would like something to remember you by." Emi said calmly as she closed the distance between them.

"Shino-kun are you…." Haku said as she opened the door and saw Shino's compromising position.

Shino had one thought before Haku's surprised expression transformed into a look of rage that would have made even the toughest ninja run in fear.

'This is not going to end well.' Shino thought as the temperature in the room fell.

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Naruto woke up and instantly knew something was wrong. He was aware that he had gone to bed alone, yet he felt another presence snuggled up into his side. Naruto's mind instantly cleared of any fogginess and he literally leapt out of his bed. Sure enough Ami was resting in the very spot he had just vacated.

'What the heck!' Naruto thought as he attempted to calm his heart rate.

He was glad that Ami was sleeping on her stomach as Naruto had taken the bed sheets with him when he leapt out of bed. He realized that his assumption was correct that she was wearing next to nothing under her shirt last night, which she happened to toss onto him before she went to sleep. Ami was only wearing a bra and panties that were red in color, just like Naruto's face.

"What are you doing in my bed?!" Naruto said harshly, but quietly. He was not stupid enough to shout such an incriminating statement throughout the building.

Ami awoke after hearing Naruto's statement and gave Naruto a seductive smile.

"Oh don't be so boring cutie." Ami said as she stood up, completely unashamed at her state of undress.

"Boring?!" Naruto replied in annoyance as he averted his eyes.

"You need to lighten up. I am very impressed that you turned down my offer last night. It shows that you have self-control as well as a cute face." Ami said as she sauntered over to Naruto.

"Look I think we need to be clear about something. Hinata-chan…" Naruto began.

"Is your girlfriend. I already know that, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her." Ami said with a wicked smile as she closed in on Naruto. Naruto grabbed her by her upper arms to halt her progress.

"What is with you?! Why are you still coming onto me?!" Naruto asked in anger and exasperation. Unfortunately, Naruto forgot to lower his tone and Naruto instantly knew he had made a mistake when he felt a huge killing intent flow over him. He turned and saw that Hinata was at their door. She saw the position they were in as well as the bed that was still in a state of disarray. Her face grew red with rage and a death glare that would have even given Anko pause came across her face. Knowing what conclusion her mind had come to, Naruto attempted to thwart her inevitable explosion of rage.

"Hinata-chan it's not what you think!" Naruto yelled.

However at that very moment, Ami pushed forward and placed a kiss on Naruto's cheek. Naruto turned to Ami with a look of shock and when he looked back at Hinata he knew that he was in trouble.

'Why did I accept this mission?!' Naruto thought as Hinata closed the door and pulled out a kunai.

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The group resumed walking towards their destination, after Shino and Naruto had restrained Haku and Hinata from killing Emi and Ami first. While the boys were very relieved that the girls had not attacked them first, it was obvious from their demeanor that they were not at all happy with having their revenge on the sisters halted and had refrained from speaking to the boys ever since. Currently, Haku and Hinata were walking in front while Naruto and Shino brought up the rear.

"Why did we accept this mission again Shino?" Naruto asked with a sigh of exasperation.

"I am beginning to wonder about that myself." The Aburame responded.

"At least it's almost over." Naruto said in relief. All the drama caused by the sisters aside, the mission had not been dangerous at all.

"One would think." Shino said quietly.

"You got something?" Naruto asked, his senses instantly on alert.

Shino didn't respond as he walked closer to Emi. Naruto did the same for Ami, taking Shino's lead and trusting his friend to know what he was doing.

Haku and Hinata looked back and noticed the boys were closer to Emi and Ami. While this at first caused a brief and intense surge of anger, the emotion was instantly quelled when they saw the expressions on their teammates' faces. Hinata activated her byakugan and looked over to Haku to alert her to the danger. She mouthed the word six to Haku and the chunin commander nodded as they all came to a stop.

"Why are we stopping?" Emi asked

"Because we are surrounded." Shino responded as Haku and HInata backed up and team eight formed a human barrier around their clients.

"I see we have been discovered."

From within the woods emerged six rain ninja. One was behind the group, two were on either sides of them and the leader of the rain ninja was directly in front of them. While the other five wore similar bluish bray garments and ninja masks, the leader stood out as he was easily twice the size as only one of his men. He wore black pants and a sleeveless dark blue shirt. He had two katana blades hanging from his sides and his long hair and eyes were as black as night.

"My name is Kane. My companions and I are loyal ninja of the hidden rain village. We have no quarrel with you leaf ninja. I am sure that we can solve this without violence." Kane said in a light tone, though an obvious threat was held within the words should the leaf ninja not be so willing to listen to him.

"You aren't going to lay a hand on either of them!" Naruto said with a fierce expression.

"Oh? Look around, you are outnumbered." Kane said simply.

"First of all, it's the quality of the fighters that matter in a fight not the quantity, and secondly Naruto if you would." Haku said, her eyes never leaving Kane's.

"**Shadow clone jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as team eight was surrounded by fifty shadow clones.

"We are no longer outnumbered." Haku said simply.

"So many clones, very impressive." Kane said with no hint of concern.

"Slaughter them." Kane added in a nonchalant tone as the five rain ninja attacked.

"Let's go!" Naruto shouted as team eight quickly leapt away and allowed the clones to buy them time to regroup.

Ten of the fifty clones went straight for Kane. Kane simply watched as the clones approached and when the clones were a mere foot away from him, they were shocked to see that Kane had disappeared.

"Where did he go?" One clone asked.

"I'm right here." Kane said from behind the clones. They all turned and saw that he was sheathing his two swords. The clones were perplexed until one by one they were all dispersed.

"Too easy." Kane said as he turned to see how his men were doing. They were just finishing off the last of the clones that had come at them, though two were sporting minor wounds.

"Find them and kill them. Bring the girls to me." Kane said in a calm tone as his men spread out to find the leaf ninja.

'Nothing will stop me. I will complete my mission.' Kane thought as he himself disappeared.

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Naruto, Hinata hid behind a tree with Ami while they discussed their next move. They team had decided to split up so their enemies wouldn't be able to catch them all if they were to be cornered.

"Where are they Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as he drew his sword.

"They are pretty spread out, but it looks like three of them are heading this way." Hinata said in a grim tone as she observed their pursuers with her byakugan.

"Three are coming towards us, which means that the other three must be going for Shino and Haku." Naruto said.

"That's right, but the leader is heading towards us." Hinata said as she looked at him with a bit of concern.

Naruto winced at that. He had gained the memories of his clones and had a very bad feeling about Kane. That he was able to defeat ten of his clones so quickly that they didn't even recognize their deathblows was cause to worry.

"No chance of them bypassing us if we hide?" Naruto asked.

"Doubtful." Hinata answered as she drew two kunai.

"Then I guess we do this the hard way." Naruto said as he created a shadow clone.

"Stick with Ami." He told the clone.

"What are you planning to do?" Ami asked.

"Fight them, what else?" Hinata said in a harsh tone.

"I hope you come back okay cutie." Ami said as she pointedly ignored Hinata's statement.

"Let's go Hinata-chan." Naruto said as he ignored Ami.

"I'll take on the two subordinates while you take on Kane right?" Hinata said in a knowing tone. Naruto always seemed to take on the strongest of their opponents wither he meant to or not.

"That's always the way it seems to happen." Naruto said with a small smile as they stopped and waited. They were far enough away from Ami that they wouldn't have to worry about her being captured and used as a hostage.

"Here they come!" Hinata said as she held a kunai in each hand. Naruto fell into his kenjutsu stance and prepared himself.

Suddenly it began to rain. This normally wouldn't have mattered except that Hinata's enhanced vision abruptly became hazy.

"Naruto-kun I can't see them anymore!" She cried out.

"What?!" Naruto answered.

"This rain has chakra in it and it's disrupting my byakugan." Hinata replied as the rain began to come down so heavily that they had trouble seeing a few feet in front of them.

"There you are. Tell me where the girls are and I will spare you lives." Kane's voice cried out from somewhere in the rain.

"No chance." Naruto yelled back.

"Very well."

Naruto instantly felt a painful kick land right in his sternum. The blow was strong enough to launch him back, separating him from Hinata.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled as she lost sight of him in the thick rain.

"You have yourself to worry about little girl."

Hinata turned and saw one of the rain ninja in front of her. Hinata jumped back and prepared herself for a fight. Surprisingly, the rain ninja took a step back and Hinata lost track of him in the rain.

'Where is he?' Hinata thought as she looked around so as not to be caught by surprise.

'Behind me!' Hinata thought as she ducked from the kick that had been aimed at the back of her head. She swiftly turned and attempted to attack him, but he jumped back and disappeared into the rain once again.

'This is not good. Even with my byakugan I can only see a few feet in front of me. How can he attack so easily in this rain and where is this rain coming from?' Hinata thought.

Her byakugan showed the enemy coming from her left side and she swiftly turned to block the slash of his kunai. However, she wasn't fast enough to avoid the second in his other hand which he used to deliver a small cut on her left arm. He swiftly jumped back and once again disappeared into the heavy rain.

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"Let's go!" Naruto said as he faced off against Kane. He brought his sword up and was preparing himself for anything.

"Why are you doing this? All you have to do is give up the girl and I won't have to end your life." Kane responded. He didn't even take a defensive stance. His posture was calm and he seemed to be completely relaxed.

"Much as she annoys me, Ami is our client and I won't let you have her." Naruto said as she rushed forward to attack.

"It's been a while since I met someone who could hold their own against me in a sword fight. Let's see if you are up to the challenge." Kane responded as he drew one of his katana.

Kane waited as until Naruto was a few feet in front of him before he made his move. Naruto swung down with an overhead slash that Kane blocked with his blade. He then took Naruto's legs out from underneath him with a swift kick and attempted to skewer the genin before he could recover. However, Naruto was not going to be defeated so easily. He used his right arm to balance himself in the air just long enough to ensure that he was not going to be impaled. He then used his arm to pivot around and kicked Kane in the chest. Kane recovered from the attack instantly with a brief look of surprise on his face. This young ninja seemed to truly know who to fight a kenjutsu battle.

"I am impressed." Kane said simply as he rushed forward to attack Naruto. Naruto suddenly found himself blocking multiple attacks. He was just able to block them but had neither the time nor the room to counter attack.

"This is getting boring." Kane said as he slashed towards Naruto's mid section. Naruto jumped back and decided to take a chance now that he had a little room.

"**Dragon Strike!**" Naruto yelled as he unleashed his dragon attack.

Kane's eyes widened before he drew his second katana and crossed the blades in defense a mere second before the dragon shaped blast of energy slammed into him. He flew back into the dense rain and Naruto lost sight of him. However, Naruto heard the tell-tale explosion of energy alerting him that his attack had succeeded.

"Let's see him get up from that." Naruto told himself. He suddenly heard Hinata's cry of pain and instantly dropped his guard.

'Hinata-chan!' He thought as he turned in the direction her cry had come from.

"You shouldn't let your guard down."

Naruto turned to look behind him, but couldn't tell where Kane's voice was coming from.

"That was a very strong attack." Kane said as he appeared on Naruto's left side. He slashed down with one of his swords. Naruto blocked but was unable to dodge the second blow from his other katana. Naruto cried out as he jumped back. He had a long slice on his chest from shoulder to hip; however, it wasn't too deep. Naruto looked at Kane and saw that he had taken a bit of damage from his attack. Kane seemed to be favoring his right side a bit and his clothes were torn and smoldering.

"It's a good thing that I don't need to fight fair." Kane said as he stepped back and disappeared into the rain.

'Not good!' Naruto thought.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled out as three clones appeared. All four Naruto's turned back to back so that they couldn't be surprised from any one direction.

"Your mastery of the shadow clone jutsu is interesting and impressive in one so young." Kane said as he appeared suddenly and dispatched one clone with a stab to the chest. Before the other clones could react, Kane had already disappeared into the rain again.

'Darn it, what am I going to do?!' Naruto thought as he and his remaining clones looked around.

"Three left, who shall go next?" Kane said in a taunting tone.

"Come out and fight!" Naruto yelled in anger and a bit of desperation. Thanks to the rain his vision was clear for only a few feet and yet Kane seemed able to see clearly in the rain.

"Very well." Kane said as he appeared again. He kicked one of the remaining clones in the chest as he simultaneously clashed both Naruto and his last clone in the chest. By the time the two clones had dispersed Kane had vanished once again and Naruto was left injured and once again without a plan.

'If I could just see him then I know I could hold my own.' Naruto thought as the previous slash healed slowly. Naruto's chest now had two long scars that formed an X right in the middle of his chest. Naruto normally didn't scar and wondered why this was happening.

"One last time, tell me where the girls are and I will allow you and your little girlfriend to live." Kane said from somewhere in the rain.

"Not going to happen." Naruto said as the shallow slash on his chest healed.

"If that is your final answer, then prepare to die." Kane said ominously.

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Shino and Haku fought together to fight off the three rain ninja coming at them. These three rain ninja attacked en masse and were very quick; However, Haku and Shino were able to stay one step ahead of them. Emi was currently tucked away behind a fallen tree with a horde of Shino's insects keeping watch. They would alert him to any threats.

"I wonder how Hinata and Naruto are doing." Haku said as she ducked underneath a kick sent her way and threw senbon at her attacker. The rain ninja jumped back and allowed his teammate to leap forward and deflect the senbon with his kunai.

"I'm sure that they can handle themselves." Shino said calmly as he jumped back to avoid a shuriken thrown at his chest. What Shino didn't tell Haku was that his insects on Naruto and Hinata were giving off faint warning signals which alerted Shino that his teammates were in danger.

"Let's finish this up and get back to them." Haku said as she began to create hand signs.

"**Ninja art: Ice daggers Jutsu!**" Haku yelled as she stopped the ground. Unlike with her ice needles attack the water became long daggers of ice that hovered over head, awaiting a target. However, the three rain ninja saw this attack and all three jumped back as a thick rain enveloped Shino and Haku.

"What is this? It's far too thick to be regular rain." Haku said in confusion as her ice daggers technique dissolved under the heavy rain.

"It must be one of their techniques." Shino responded as he concentrated on where the ninja were hiding. However, the rain itself was laced with chakra and he couldn't get a real sense of where they were.

"I believe that they will use this rain as a stealth tactic." Shino said.

"I agree. Do you have an idea of how we should counter this attack?" Haku asked as they moved back to back.

"I can only assume that one of them is solely concentrating on this technique while the other two attack use. If that is the case then I have an idea." Shino said in a low tone so that it wouldn't be over heard. Their conversation was broken when they heard a voice from the rain

"**Ninja art: Tidal surge!**"

The fallen rain surged up into a wall of water that flowed towards Shino and Haku at an unnaturally fast speed. Haku swiftly pushed Shino aside as she was swept away by the water.

"Haku-chan!" Shino called out as He quickly jumped aside to avoid the kunai that impacted the ground where he had been previously. He turned to see one of the rain ninja looking at him before he simply stepped back and disappeared into the rain once again. Shino had to trust Haku to take care of herself as he was not going to be able to help her yet.

He waited for the ninja to make his move and didn't have to wait for very long. The ninja jumped down in front of Shino and attacked.

"**Ninja art: water dragon pistol.**" He yelled out as a dragon head shape of water appeared before him. It opened its mouth and launched multiple bursts of high velocity water at Shino.

Instead of running away, Shino actually ran towards the rain ninja. Shino focused on what Haku taught him and was able to barely dodge the bursts of water. The rain ninja was shocked that his opponent actually ran towards him when facing such an attack and was a moment to slow in getting out of Shino's way. Shino punched the rain ninja in the face and followed up with a swift kick the chest. The rain ninja regained his composure and disappeared into the rain again. Shino waited in the heavy rain for his opponent.

'Now!' He thought as he made hand signs.

"**Aburame Style: spider entrapment!**" Shino yelled.

Shino thrust his arm out and a mass of transparent strands of spider silk flew from inside his coat sleeve. The silk flew into the rain until he felt it snag his opponent and Shino hauled back quickly as if he was hauling in a fish. The rain ninja appeared and had a shocked expression on his face.

"H-how?" he asked in shock.

"I placed a single insect onto you. So it really wasn't that hard to find you even in this heavy rain." Shino said as he unleashed his insects onto the screaming ninja. After he was defeated Shino dropped his body and tried to find Haku's signature. He normally wouldn't have been very worried about her in such a situation, but after taking that hard blow earlier he wanted to make sure she was alright. He got his answer when the rain suddenly stopped. He was confused until he saw Haku appeared with both rain ninja tied up behind her.

"Haku-chan!" Shino cried out as he rushed up and wrapped her in a hug.

"I'm fine Shino-kun." Haku said as she smiled and leaned into the hug.

"How?" He asked in relief and confusion.

"Did you forget that my ice ability is dependent on me having control over wind and water? That water squall didn't hurt my nearly as much as he thought and he made the mistake of getting to close. His partner who was hanging back applying the chakra to the rain was easy enough to find with my crystal ice mirrors." Haku said with a smile on her face. Shino simply shook his head with a smile and had to fight back a laugh at Haku's nonchalant explanation of her fight.

Their humor disappeared when they felt a massive chakra signature pop up. Shino and Haku recognized the feel of the chakra from the chunin exams. They both knew the source of the chakra.

Naruto was using Kyuubi's chakra, but there was something different about it. To them it felt more potent and controlled.

Without a word they both ran to where they felt their comrades were fighting.

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Hinata grabbed her arm, trying to halt the profuse bleeding that was coming from the deep slash the enemy ninja had been able to hit her with. She was seething in anger for letting her guard down and had to do something.

'If I could just see him then I know I could take him out.' She thought. However, she knew that knowing what her problem was did not mean she knew how to solve it. She was sure that Naruto was fighting Kane which meant she had two opponents to fight.

'What! Where is the second?' Hinata thought in confusion. So far only one rain ninja was attacking her.

'He must be the one controlling the rain!' Hinata thought. Making a decision, Hinata ripped her coat and tightly wrapped her arm to stop the bleeding. Hinata waited for the rain ninja to make his move. When he appeared, Hinata acted.

"**Water Style: Water Geyser Jutsu!**" Hinata yelled as a wave of water erupted between the two ninja. Hinata then turned the water against the rain ninja and threw him into a tree. Knowing that he was far from defeated, Hinata focused her byakugan to a limit that she had never attempted before. Her eyes began to hurt badly but she suffered through the pain and searched for the second ninja. She found the ninja a few meters away and swiftly threw a multitude of weapons at the ninja. Hinata saw the ninja attempt to dodge the weapons but the ninja soon fell to his knees and passed out.

'Guess he didn't notice the poison senbon needles that I threw with my kunai and shuriken.' Hinata thought with a pant. Her eyes were throbbing in pain at her overexertion.

Hinata felt a sharp pain in her back and fell onto her face as the rain stopped. She looked behind her to see the remaining rain ninja behind her. He had kicked her when her back was turned and was walking towards her. Hinata was barely able to keep her eyes open from the pain she felt and knew that she was in trouble.

'Naruto-kun.' She thought.

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Naruto was panting in exhaustion. Kane had been attacking him non-stop for a while now and there was only one reason that Naruto was alive. His sword had begun to pulsate a split second before Kane attacked. Naruto was able to use this as an indicator of when and where Kane was coming from. However, Kane was still a better trained kenjutsu fighter then Naruto was and with the rain obscuring Naruto's vision, he couldn't use his other techniques as he would only be wasting chakra.

He felt a pulse from his sword and was able to block a slash that was aimed at his back. He jumped over the follow up slash from Kane and struck out with an attack of his own. Kane blocked the strike and kicked Naruto in the chest. Naruto righted himself in the air and looked around for Kane. The rain jonin had once again disappeared into the rain.

Suddenly the rain stopped. Naruto was stunned for a moment too long and he felt a pulse from his sword too late. Naruto looked down and saw one of Kane's blades sticking through his chest. Naruto coughed up blood and fell to his knees. Naruto dropped his sword as he began to lose feeling in his body.

"You shouldn't have let your guard down. You were a good opponent, thus I will grant you a swift warrior's death." Kane said as he raised his second sword and slashed down towards Naruto's neck.

'**Pathetic. Do I have to take care of everything Naruto?**' Naruto heard as he felt his control slip.

'No!' Naruto thought as he tried to fight Makaze's control.

'**You're too weak! I will handle this now!**'

Kane was surprised when Naruto's hand shot up to grab his sword an inch before it sliced into his neck. Kane jumped back when he felt the explosion of chakra come from the genin. He observed Naruto's changed appearance.

The genin's blonde hair was not a dark orange. His nails and teeth had lengthened into claws and fangs. His eyes were blood red and had had a vertical black pupil in them. His whisker marks had lengthened and were blood red in color now. He looked as Kane and in his eyes Kane saw a multitude of emotions. Glee, anger, and satisfaction were on his face.

"**Finally I get to stretch my legs again.**" Makaze said.

"Who are you?" Kane asked in an interested tone.

"**My name is of no concern to a dead man.**" Makaze said with a wicked smile on his face. Makaze looked down at the blade that was still in his chest and pulled it out without as much as a grunt of pain. He looked at the blade and with one hand, snapped it like a twig.

Kane knew that this was not an enemy he wanted to fight right now. The rain had stopped which meant that his mean were probably defeated.

'I will have to gain what I seek another way.' Kane thought as he turned to leave. However, he was shocked to see Makaze right in front of him the minute he turned around.

"**I have been watching from within Naruto. You are very fast, but are you fast enough?**" Makaze asked with a gleam in his eye that promised pain.

Kane jumped back into a defensive stance as Makaze took a step towards him. Makaze stopped and looked behind him for a moment.

"**I will have to deal with you later**." Makaze said as he disappeared.

'What an interesting ninja.' Kane thought as he himself disappeared.

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Hinata looked at the ninja in front of her with a wince of pain. Her eyes had yet to recover from the extreme strain she placed on them to see through the chakra rain. Finding that single rain ninja was literally like finding a needle in a haystack. The chakra in the rain made it so that her byakugan only showed her a sheet of chakra all around her. Finding a single chakra signature took all of her concentration. However, the remaining rain ninja was attacking her ruthlessly to quickly get rid of her.

Hinata's eyes widened when she felt a surge of demonic chakra. She knew exactly where it had come from and her eyes went in the direction she felt it from. The rain ninja took advantage and kicked her in the chest. He grabbed her by her coat and lifted her into the air. He was confused as to why her eyes were locked behind him.

"**You should really put her down.**"

The rain ninja turned to see the other genin he had seen his commander attack. He noticed the differences but didn't think too much of them. He was more confused as to how the ninja was alive. Very few people survived a fight with his commander, Kane.

Makaze didn't wait any longer and rushed towards the rain ninja. Surprised by his speed the rain ninja threw Hinata towards Makaze. Makaze caught her and leapt back. He looked down into her face and her wide, shocked expression. A dark smile appeared on his.

"**Wait here Hinata-chan. This won't take long**." Makaze said as he laid her down and turned towards the rain ninja. He noticed that the rain ninja had completed a jutsu while he had been distracted.

"**Ninja art: Water dragon jutsu!**" he yelled as the remaining rain on the ground became a massive dragon and flew towards Makaze.

Makaze didn't move and the dragon slammed into the ground around the genin. The rain ninja looked on and was surprised when the water began to turn into steam and float away from the young ninja, who hadn't moved a foot.

"**Is that all?**" Makaze asked in annoyance as he rushed forward He kicked the rain ninja in the chest, breaking quite a few ribs. He then grabbed his arms and wretched them out of their sockets. He broke both the arms and then slashed the rain ninja's legs with his extended claws. Makaze dropped the severely wounded ninja and looked into his pain filled eyes. Makaze's face showed his absolute glee and pleasure at the painful cries of the rain ninja. It was as if he feed off of the pain.

"**Normally I would take my time, but Hinata-chan is waiting for me**." Makaze said as he shoved his hand into the rain ninja's chest and crushed his heart. He turned his back on the corpse and slowly walked towards Hinata.

Hinata had seen the entire thing and was truly afraid. She had never before been afraid of Naruto, even when he used Kyuubi's power. However, Makaze's brutal attacks and his enjoyment of the pain he caused scared Hinata. She slowly got to her feet and began to walk away from the demonic genin. She was shocked when Makaze appeared directly in front of her in a burst of speed. She looked into his eyes and saw a multitude of emotions, but the one that truly terrified her the most was the one that was the most noticeable, lust.

"**Hello Hinata-chan. I am very glad we are finally able to meet.**" Makaze said as a wide, wicked smile spread across his face. He felt Naruto attempting to retake control but he was not going to give it up so easily.

"W-where i-is N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in fear.

"**Let's not talk about him right now okay? We have so many other things we can do that are much, much more fun.**" Makaze said as he backed her up to a tree.

Hinata was shivering in fear and horror as Makaze leaned forward to kiss her.

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**Here's chapter 35! Yes I am very evil for ending this now! What will happen next time? What is Hinata going to do? How will Naruto retake control, if he even can? Why is Kane after Emi and Ami? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

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Hinata stared into the blood red eyes of Makaze. She saw his face moving towards hers and had no illusions as to his intent.

"D-don't." Hinata said softly in fear. She was injured, her eyes hurt and she was now facing off against a demonized version of her boyfriend. Hinata was in need of help.

"**Now, now. No reason to fear Hinata-chan. Just do what comes naturally.**" Makaze said with the same dark smile as his lips came within an inch of hers.

"Okay." Hinata said in a soft tone as she seemingly relaxed and stopped struggling.

'I knew she wouldn't be able to resist me.' Makaze thought darkly to Naruto, who was still attempting to regain control.

Makaze suddenly felt an intense pain and fell forward with a snarl of pain. Hinata jumped back and began to run away. She had simply done what had come naturally to her when faced with an overzealous man that didn't take no for an answer. (**an. If you don't know what I am talking about then….too bad.)**

'I've got to find Shino and Haku-san. They will be able to help me get Naruto-kun back to normal.' Hinata thought as she continued to race through the trees. She came to a stop in a clearing that must have been the sight of where Naruto had fought Kane. She saw Naruto's sword on the ground and slowly walked over to pick it up. She felt a brief rush of sensation but was unable to ponder it when she heard a voice that sent chills down her spine.

"**That wasn't very nice Hinata-chan.**"

Hinat slowly turned and saw Makaze standing behind her with a casual stance. The gleam in his eyes hadn't lessened at all. If anything it had actually increased.

"**I love that fire inside of you. It makes you all the more beautiful to me.**" Makaze said as he confidently walked towards her. His grin was that of a predator's when they had found exactly what they wanted to devour.

"Stay back!" Hinata said with more strength than she felt.

Makaze's smile dimmed when his eyes landed on the sword held in Hinata's hands.

"**Put that down.**" Makaze said with a snarl.

Hinata was confused as to his change in demeanor. One minute he was confident and relaxed, and now he was angry and defensive. Hinata may not have been able to use her byakugan but she didn't need it to see that Makaze was very wary and maybe even slightly afraid of the blade.

'But why?' Hinata thought in confusion. She was ripped from her thoughts when she looked up and saw that Makaze was right in front of her. Before she could say or do anything he grabbed the blade from her hand and threw it behind him into the woods. He grimaced as he saw the severe burns that had appeared on his hand when he had grabbed the blade.

'**At least it's no longer a problem.**' Makaze thought as he noticed the burns were not healing, despite the demonic chakra circulating through his system. If anything the burns were becoming more severe.

'**Curse that blade.**' Makaze thought in anger. However, his expression changed when he saw that Hinata was running away again.

"**Hidden Shadow Snakes.**" He calmly said.

Hinata found her progress arrested by the serpents that had wrapped around her chest and arms. She could do nothing but struggle in vain as she was hauled back to the demonic genin.

"**I must say that this game of cat and mouse have been entertaining. However, I believe that the time for games is over, Hinata-chan.**" Makaze said as he brought her face to face with him.

"**Aburame Style: Spider entrapment Jutsu!**"

Makaze was slightly surprised and very annoyed when a mass of translucent strands of silk wrapped around him. He turned his head slightly and stared at Shino and Haku.

"**You** **realize that you were interrupting something don't you Shino?**" Makaze asked in an irritated tone.

"Naruto?" Haku asked in confusion when faced with the transformed ninja.

"**Not quite.**" Makaze responded as he tested the strength of the strands. They seemed too made of spider silk, which was known for its incredible tensile strength.

"Who are you?" Shino asked as he stared long and hard at the transformed ninja.

"**Let's just say that Naruto has a few unresolved issues that he hasn't yet dealt with.**" Makaze said in a calm tone. He didn't at all seem to be worried about his current predicament.

"Let Hinata go." Haku said as she pulled out a few senbon needles.

Makaze simply canceled his jutsu and Hinata feel to the ground in a groan of pain. Haku rushed over and began to bandage her wounds.

"I **have nothing against you Shino. However, you had better release me.**" Makaze said with his smile leaving his face. His expression hardened and Shino could see that he had finally started taking his and Haku's presence seriously.

"I don't think so." Shino said with a frown. He had no intention of allowing Makaze the freedom he sought. There was no telling what would happen.

"**Very well.**" Makaze said as his chakra flared. With a grunt of exertion he was able to unleash a wave of chakra strong enough to push the incalculable number of strands from his body. He then moved away before being snared again. Even with his strength, breaking the strands would have taken far more chakra then he was willing to spend.

Shino was shocked by Makaze's move but refused to show it. He moved in front of Haku, who by this point had finished bandaging Hinata, and a swarm of his insects appeared. He commanded them to stay close as he wanted to see Makaze's next move. For his part Makaze seemed to simply observe them for a moment before his began to speak in a confident tone again.

"**Team eight. I must say that this is quite a unique way to make my introduction.**" Makaze said as he crossed his arms. His smirk was back on his face and while he spoke to them as a whole, his eyes stayed focused on Hinata the entire time.

"Who are you?" Hinata asked in confusion and a bit of anger. She did not appreciate Makaze's earlier attempts at a kiss, nor his apparent refusal to answer their questions.

"**I am Makaze, the embodiment of all of Naruto's dark feelings and emotions that he suppressed over his traumatic life.**" Makaze said seriously.

"What?" Haku asked in surprise.

"**I hate to repeat myself.**" Makaze said as he walked towards them.

"Stay back!" Haku commanded as she threw senbon at his pressure points.

"**You have no need to panic. Simply stand aside and allow me and Hinata some time alone. Afterwards we can continue on with the mission.**" Makaze said as he sidestepped and avoided the senbon.

"Why do you want Hinata? And what do you mean about the mission? Why do you care?" Shino asked as he sent a horde of insects towards Makaze.

"**I thought you were the smart one.**" Makaze said as he simply flared his chakra.

The insects were not willing to eat such tainted chakra and most flew back to Shino. The few that landed on Makze were either burned off or dropped dead from consuming the demonic chakra. Makaze's smile widened as he rushed towards Shino. He had no quarrel with Shino and Haku. He was governed by Naruto's feeling to a degree and Naruto had never had a dark thought about his two friends. Makaze could also make his own decisions when he was in control and he himself didn't have a problem with them. However, there was a saying about coming between a predator and his mate. Unfortunately, Shino and Haku were between Makaze and the one he considered his mate, Hinata.

"**Ninja Art: Mud Wall Jutsu.**" Shino said as a large wall of earth appeared in front of him. He was loathe to hurt his friend but he knew that there was little choice.

Makaze smiled as he saw the new obstacle. He could move around it, but where was the fun in that? Makaze punched the wall, smashing it to pieces with little effort and continued through. However, Makaze didn't recognize the wall for what it truly was, a trap.

"**Ninja art: Ice Daggers!**"

Makaze's smile left his face as he was hit with multiple shards of ice. He jumped back and allowed his healing ability to repair his damaged body. Shino and Haku pressed their advantage and attacked. Hinata was too injured to truly be of help and they didn't want her too close to Makaze.

"**This is pointless. I have nothing against you two. I actually respect you, which is saying something. Stop now before I decide that you have lost that small bit of respect.**" Makaze said with a frown as they continued to attack him.

Not heeding his words, Shino and Haku assaulted Makaze. Makaze seemed content to simply dodge until his expression darkened. He grabbed Haku's fist, stopping her punch to his face and brought her to him, slamming his knee into her chest. Haku let out a strained gasp of pain and the breath left her body and Makaze threw her away from him. Shino's expression darkened considerably and his assault on Makaze doubled. However, Shino simply didn't have the strength or speed to match up with the demon boy and he ended up on his back when Makaze swept his knees out from underneath him. Makaze's confident look returned and a sick smile appeared on his face. He slammed his foot down into Shino's chest. Shino let out a cry of pain as he felt one of his ribs break under the pressure. Confident that Shino was out of his hair, at least temporarily, Makaze turned to see that Haku had gotten to her feet.

"You'll pay for that!" Haku shouted in anger at Shino's pain.

"**I doubt that. Stay down and I won't have to do worse.**" Makaze said with a smile. He didn't truly enjoy hurting either of them, but he did enjoy a fight, regardless as to his opponents.

"Sorry can't do that!" Haku said as she pulled out a scroll and released Zabuza's sword.

Makaze's eyes widened in surprise and then a gleeful look came to his face. He knew that this fight was about to get much more interesting. Haku attacked Makaze in anger. Her strikes were swift and powerful. Makaze's smile never left his face, even as he was occasionally hit by the blade. Annoyed at his seemingly happy expression, Haku redoubled her efforts to seriously injury the ninja. She knew about Naruto's healing factor and was confident that he would be fine after she finished slicing Makaze up. Harming Shino was the one way to make the gentle tide that was Haku turn into a tidal wave of rage.

Makaze was surprised by her increase in speed and ferocity and knew that she was coming at him without care of Naruto's well being.

'**Interesting.**' Makaze thought as he ducked under a swing from the sword. He had no time to counter attack as she swung her body with the blade and was already in position to hit him with a mule kick to the chest. Makaze grunted in annoyance as he took a step backward. Haku completed her spin and swung the flat of the sword toward him. Makaze would have evaded had he been able to.

"**Spider entrapment!**"

Makaze was surprised when he was once again snared by Shino's spider webs. He had no time to even brace himself as Haku smashed him in the side with the flat of the sword. Makaze was sent flying through a tree.

"Shino-kun!" Haku said in relief and concern as he limped towards her. His chest was killing him, but he was still conscious.

"I'm alright Haku-chan." He said with a strained smile.

Haku gave him a brief hug before they separated at the sound of laughter.

"**Very good!**" Makaze said as he appeared in front of them. His right arm and leg seemed to be in bad condition, but before their eyes, they saw the bones reset and he regained their full mobility.

"**As a duo you two actually have given me quite a fight. Unfortunately it's time to end this.**" Makaze said as he walked towards them. Makaze stopped when Hinata stood beside them.

"You will not hurt my friends." She said furiously as she held a kunai with her good arm.

"Hinata, you aren't in any condition to fight him." Haku stated in concern.

"I know." Was the ice user's response.

Makaze's smile never dimmed as he rushed towards them once again. They all prepared themselves for the fight but were far from prepared for Makaze's next move.

"**Ninja art: Piercing Darkness!**" Makaze yelled as all three of them were surrounded in a dome of darkness. So complete was the darkness that they couldn't even see their comrade a few inches beside them.

"**Now let's have some fun!**" Makaze yelled from the darkness. All three ninja were stunned at the technique as none of them had ever experienced it themselves.

Shino released his insect in hopes that they would be able to alert him to Makaze's position. However, what Shino did not count on was that Makaze knew that Shino would send his insects. When not in control, Makaze could only be an observer as Naruto lived his life. Makaze spent days on end learning all there was to know about the people that Naruto associated with. He felt that this would better prepare him for the day that he assumed total control over their shard body. With this knowledge, Makaze attacked Shino first. Shino had no warning before he felt a massive amount of pain in his already damaged ribs. He was unable to even cry out before the pain from another broken rib caused him to lose consciousness.

Haku felt that she had the best chance out of the three ninja of finding Makaze. His technique was no different than the hidden mist jutsu to her and she was an expert in the silent killing style, just as Zabuza was. However, what surprised her was that this technique did not only affect her eye-sight. She couldn't explain it but it was as if all her senses were being distorted.

'I understand now! This jutsu is truly powerful!'Haku thought as she realized the true power behind the piercing darkness technique. It affected all of a person's senses except for touch. While a person caught in the technique would undoubtedly notice the lack of eyesight, they would most likely not notice the subtle distortions of their other senses. Even now as Haku turned in the direction that Shino had been in when the jutsu was activated, she couldn't help but feel that she was looking in the wrong direction. The insect she kept with her alerted to her that Shino had lost consciousness. Truthfully, the only reason the insect was able to communicate with her at all was because it was on her person.

Haku had no more time to think about the shockingly powerful jutsu before she felt a savage punch hit her in the face. She cried out as she flew backward, though she knew that Shino was unconscious and Hinata was incapable of hearing her with this technique activated. She suddenly felt herself being lifted up. While she was aware that Makaze was holding her up by her shirt no more than a few inches off of the ground, the technique made it feel as if she was hundreds of feet off of the ground. It was disconcerting to say the least.

"**You put up a good fight, time to say goodnight.**" Makaze said before he slammed his knee into her chest and finished with a powerful strike to the back of her head.

As Haku crumpled into unconsciousness, Makaze looked over to the last standing member of team eight. Makaze calmly stalked towards her, ever the predator and marveled at the technique still in use.

'**You have no idea just how powerful this technique is Naruto.**' He thought as he slowly approached Hinata.

The Piercing Darkness did indeed take away an opponent's sight due to the dome of darkness that surrounded them. However, this was not the full extent of the technique's ability. It could also warp an enemies other senses. It did take much more concentration and chakra to affect smell or sound or even the perception of things, but Makaze had plenty of chakra to spare and his concentration was already beyond normal. Having to keep Naruto bound for so long inside their mind required a massive amount of concentration and will.

Hinata looked around in confusion. She was prepared for the loss of sight as Naruto told her and Shino about the technique. However, she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. She had heard nothing from Shino or Haku since the technique had begun.

'Naruto-kun never said anything about other senses being affected.' Hinata thought in a small amount of fear.

"**And then there was one.**"

Hinata jumped back and threw her kunai behind her. She was surprised that she had not noticed Makaze's presence behind her. Even now she couldn't tell where he would strike from. She was sure that she had missed with the kunai and knew that he was still somewhere in the darkness. Hinata couldn't help the fear that spread through her. Makaze had an obvious attraction to her and it seemed that Hinata was now on her own.

"**You seem afraid Hinata-chan. Why do you fear me? I don't plan to hurt you.**" Makaze's voice said from somewhere in the all encompassing darkness.

"Stay away from me! You aren't Naurto-kun! You are just using his body!" Hinata cried out as she pulled out another kunai.

"**Of course I'm not Naruto. I'm something better. As I told you I come from all of the dark feelings that Naruto always suppressed or denied. There are two emotions that fuel me currently. Normally they are hate and anger, but right now the ones most powerful are lust and obsession.**" Makaze said in a soft but chilling voice that was filled with an emotion that caused Hinata to nearly drop her weapon in fear.

"**Hello there.**" Makaze whispered onto Hinata's neck from behind her. Hinata attempted to jump away in shock and fear; however Makaze's arms wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides. The piercing darkness technique dispersed and Hinata saw the unconscious bodies of both Shino and Haku in front of her. She turned her head slightly and was face to face with Makaze.

"**Together at last.**" Makaze said softly as he nuzzled into Hinata's neck and took in her sent. He either didn't notice, or didn't care when she shivered against the contact.

"**You don't know how long I have waited for this.**" Makaze said as he placed a small kiss on neck.

Hinata was torn between feeling terrified and feeling disgusted. While her body was well aware that the body of her boyfriend was hugging onto her intimately, her mind refused to allow herself to forget who was in control of the body and that kept her mind clear.

Had Naruto been in control however….well that's a different story.

Makaze released Hinata, but before she could think about doing anything, he turned her towards him and kissed her. The difference between Makaze and Naruto could be summed up in the way each of them kissed. To Hinata, Naruto's kiss was full of care, love, and affection. If she had to give a description of it she would say that it was like the warm feeling that slowly spreads through one's body when the sun is out and the rays beam down upon you. Makaze's kiss was full of raw, unadulterated passion. It was like being too close to a fire. You would get warm, but you would also be burnt by the intensity. Naruto extruded control while Makaze intentionally decided not to use it. Makaze was the equivalent of a wild predator, ruled by his instincts with little regard for those that he didn't consider of any importance.

"Hello Makaze."

Makaze released Hinata, thinking nothing of her disgusted expression, and turned to look behind him. Before him was the mysterious man who always seemed to appear when least expected. Hinata was frozen in place at the appearance of the new figure and backed away towards her fallen comrades hoping to reawaken them before Makaze's focus once again fell upon her.

"**So you finally appear. I was wondering if you were around here. So let me guess, you want to help Naruto regain control.**" Makaze said with a smile of accomplishment. When he had kissed Hinata, he had felt Naruto's rage and hatred within their mind. However, Makaze had been able to barely hold onto his control, which led him to believe that he would be able to remain in control for good.

"Of course. If you would be so kind as to allow him control again, that would be appreciated." The mysterious man said in a jovial tone.

"**Not going to happen.**" Makaze said as he flared his chakra.

"Oh. That's unfortunate. I really didn't want to force the issue so soon." The man said in a tone that seemed to be less directed at Makaze as it was towards himself.

"**Whatever you have planned won't work. He doesn't have the will to defeat me. I will rip you to pieces and finally discover you identity.**" Makaze said as he rushed headlong towards the figure.

"My identity? Oh that's simple." The man said as he easily dodged Makaze's swift and powerful blows.

"**Oh? Then who are you!**" Makaze roared in anger at having the figure continually dodge his fastest blows.

Makaze was about to punch the figure with all of his might when his hand was easily caught. He didn't have time to be shocked by this before he felt an intense pain in his chest. He looked down to see the golden dragon sword impaled directly through his heart.

"Who am I? Well, that is a secret." The man said as Makaze's sight darkened and his body slumped over.

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Makaze's eyes opened and he found himself within the sewers that represented Naruto's mindscape.

'**That was annoying**.' Makaze thought in irritation. He stood up and looked around. He was surprised that he was alive at all. There were things that not even he could survive and a sword going through his heart was one of them. Shrugging his shoulders he decided to go and see what the fox knew about this.

"**What is going on, how did we survive a sword going through my heart?**" Makaze asked as he came face to face with the fox.

Kyuubi was lying down and had his eyes closed. He was not asleep; he was deciding whether or not he truly wished to answer. Kyuubi had been around for thousands of years, but he had never been in such a situation as this. He was sealed inside of a human of all things. This human seemed to have some sort of connection with the dragons, something Kyuubi had not seen for a very long time. That this human also had a split persona, which Kyuubi had at first considered amusing, was just another in the long list of strange things that made Naruto Uzumaki a very interesting human, indeed.

The great demon opened his eyes and gazed at the entity that truthfully could be considered the closest thing to a son he would ever have. Makaze's existence came from suppressed, dark emotions that were empowered by Kyuubi's chakra. Unlike Naruto, Makaze constantly used Kyuubi's power making him stronger than his counterpart. Kyuubi was saved from having to decide whether or not to answer Makaze by an unexpected voice.

"Makaze!"

Makaze's and Kyuubi's eyes turned to the voice that could only belong to one person. Naruto was walking down the path towards them with a look of rage on his face.

"**Naruto. So how did you enjoy your time in here?**" Makaze asked in a mocking tone. He knew why Naruto was upset and planned to rub it in his face.

"You piece of trash! How dare you hurt my friends like that. And for what you did to Hinata-chan…" Naruto said as he visibly trembled with pent up rage.

"**Please. If I wanted to really hurt Shino and Haku then they would be either crippled or killed. And as for Hinata…..well what I did is nothing compared to what I'm going to do**." Makaze said as his face broke out into a devious smirk. He knew he was pushing Naruto over the edge. He wanted to have the blonde ninja make the mistake of fighting him. Once he defeated Naruto in their mindscape, he would seal him away and permanently rule.

"**As much as I would love to hear more of your idiocy, there is something that needs to be addressed.**" Kyuubi said, finally speaking for the first time.

"And what's that?!" Naruto shouted to the fox. He wanted nothing more than to ripe Makaze's head off.

Kyuubi didn't answer. He simply kept his unwavering stare behind Naruto. Naruto turned to look and saw his sword floating in the air behind him. Makaze visibly tensed and a low growl escaped his throat. Naruto walked over and grabbed his sword from the air. Immediately a blinding flash of light enveloped the entire mindscape and when it had finally dissipated, Naruto and Makaze were gone.

"**I wonder what will happen now.**" Kyuubi said as he turned his head and stared at a certain part of his cage. The normal darkness around Kyuubi wavered and began to brighten. When it finally stopped the fox found himself watching as Naruto and Makaze finally reappeared. They were not in any of the numerous corridors that made up the mindscape that Kyuubi knew of. However, where they were was a moot point as Kyuubi realized that they were going to finally settle their fight over dominance.

"**Hmm, interesting.**" Kyuubi thought as he lay back down and settled into a comfortable position. He felt like he was going to enjoy this fight, and ideally wondered if he should get involved.

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Makaze looked around when the light finally dissipated. It was obvious that he and Naruto had been transported to another part of their mind as they were no longer in front of the cage that held back the fox demon. To Makaze, it seemed like they were in an arena shrouded in darkness. Oh he could see Naruto well enough as the blonde ninja was inspecting their new dwelling as well. However, beyond Naruto, Makaze could see nothing. It was slightly disconcerting to Naruto, but to Makaze it was nothing new.

"**You look afraid, Naruto. Have you still not gotten used to the darkness? Don't worry soon you will be trapped here for the rest of our existence. You'll eventually grow accustomed to it as I had too.**" Makaze said with a sneer.

Naruto stared at his dark counterpart and his eyes darkened once again at the sight of Makaze. His rage at Makaze's actions had not even begun to dim. He wasted no time with words. To Naruto, there was nothing left to say. One of them would leave victorious while the later would forever be bond within their mind.

"You are the darkness that has always dwelled within me." Naruto said as he drew his sword.

"**And you are the darkness that has always surrounded me.**" Makaze replied as his claws extended.

Neither was sure as to what would signal the beginning of the fight. In the end, there was no need for such a signal. Both attacked simultaneously and the fight for dominance had finally begun.

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"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled in fear when she saw the body of her boyfriend skewered by his very blade.

The man seemed unconcerned with Hinata's cry of fear. He simply picked up the body and slowly walked over to Hinata. He saw her sorrow and decided to ease her fears.

"His body still lives. As to who will be the one to awaken, well that depends on Naruto." He said calmly.

"Why did you do that?!" Hinata yelled in fury. Her sorrow dissipated at the knowledge that Naruto was alright but her protective streak towards him caused her to be on the verge of a rage induced assault, despite the fact that she was heavily injured and the mysterious man obviously was well above her level.

"This is something Naruto has to deal with now." He said simply as he turned to walk away. He stopped suddenly and turned to look at Hinata.

"I'm glad you awoke from your slumber Hinata. I see my assistance helped you." He said in his usual jovial tone.

"You helped me? Why?" Hinata asked in confusion. Kurenai had failed to tell Hinata as to the specific details about her awakening.

"That is a secret!" He said as he disappeared before her eyes.

Hinata was left dumbfounded for a moment before she shook her head and looked down at the still body of Naruto. Though she knew he lived, her heart almost broke at the sight of him with a sword driven straight through his chest.

"Hinata."

Hinata turned around and saw that Haku and Shino were beginning to awaken. Shino was nearly doubled over in agony from his ribs and Haku hurriedly began to heal him by using what little knowledge she had gained from working in the hospital.

"What happened to Naruto?" Shino asked with a gasp as he saw the state his friend was in. Haku was also visibly pale at the thought that Naruto was no longer amongst the living.

"It's okay Shino-san. Naruto-kun is okay, I think." Hinata said as tears began to fall from her eyes.

Naruto's body may be alright but what about his mind? The thought running through all of their minds was the same. Who would awaken, Naruto or Makaze?

"We need to find the girls and get to their country. We need time to recuperate and figure out what to do next." Haku said as she turned her mind back onto their mission.

Shino gingerly walked towards Naruto and attempted to pull the sword of out his body. He was surprised when a flash of golden chakra flared and struck his hand. He pulled back quickly and held his slightly burnt hand.

"What just happened?" Haku asked in surprise and confusion.

"I have no idea." Shino replied with a deep frown.

Hinata looked surprised as well but she refused to allow the sword to remain in Naruto's body. Mentally preparing herself, Hinata crouched down and slowly brought her hand towards the handle of the sword.

"Be careful Hinata." Shino said as he allowed Haku to wrap his hand.

Hinata didn't reply as she attempted to grasp the pummel. They were all surprised when her hand gently rested on the handle of the sword without any noticeable response from the blade. She pulled the sword free, wincing at the sounds it made. Finally she was able to stand with the sword in her hands. She was surprised to notice that it had not a single drop of blood on it. She sheathed the blade into Naruto belt and slowly stepped aside so that Haku could pick him up. Hinata would have liked to have kept Naruto with her, but she knew that his extra weight would be too much for her to handle. Already the adrenaline of the fights was beginning to fade and she was becoming very sore and tired. Shino was not in any better shape than she was, thought he hid it better. Out of the three, Haku was the one who was the least damaged, but her chakra was very low.

They all needed a good long break. They all moved to pick up the sisters and get to their country.

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**Here's chapter 36! Makaze vs Naruto! Who will win? Will Kyuubi step in for either of them? What awaits team eight as they finally reach Emi and Ami's country? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

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Naruto slashed towards Makaze's head. Makaze ducked underneath the blow and punched Naruto in the chest. Naruto spun in the air and kicked Makaze in the head, launching both combatants to differing sides of the strange arena structure they found themselves in. Naruto jumped up first and went on the offensive again.

"**Shadow clone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as he created five clones. The clones all sped towards Makaze. Makaze watched them come with little emotion on his face. As they got closer Makaze went into action. He grabbed one clone by throat and spun sharply, breaking its neck while simultaneously kicking another in the chest. Before the cloud of smoke from their dissipation could completely clear Makaze had smashed another clone in the head. The last two walked around Makaze with caution. As one they struck. One went high while the other attacked low. Makaze jumped into the air and flipped at the exact moment necessary to ensure that both blades would miss him by mere centimeters. After landing in a crouch, Makaze leapt towards both clones before they could recover and impaled his hands into their chests. Makaze stood unblinking in the cloud of smoke. His entire gaze locked onto Naruto.

Naruto was completely unsurprised by Makaze's moves. He knew that this battle would most likely be the most difficult of his life and everything was on the line. Unlike a regular battle, defeat here did not mean death. No, defeat here meant a lifetime trapped inside of his own mind while a dark version of himself was let loose onto the world. Death was preferable to such a fate.

"**Ninja art: Slicing Cyclone**." Makaze said as he thrust his arm outward.

Naruto was not at all surprised to see a tornado the size of a small building moving towards him. He had not been idle when trapped inside of Makaze. While he had been fighting his hardest to break free, he also wanted to learn more about what his alter ego could do. He knew that Makaze had stronger versions of his own attacks.

Naruto jumped to the side and avoided the intense blast of wind. He unleashed his own cyclone at Makaze and was not surprised at all when Makaze jumped straight up into the air.

Makaze created three clones and they all dive bombed towards Naruto. Naruto jumped to avoid them, not recognizing them for what they were. When each clone hit the ground, they exploded. Naruto was caught in the third explosion and was sent reeling. He righted himself and quickly brought his sword up to block Makaze's claws.

Makaze kicked Naruto in the chest and Naruto once again found himself flying backwards. Makaze's raw strength was truly frightening. Naruto jumped up and spit out a wad of blood. He stood to his feet and prepared himself. He fell into his kenjutsu stance and concentrated.

"**You will have to do much better if you want to win**." Makaze said with a mocking smile.

"I plan to!" Naruto shouted as he attacked once again. He slashed towards Makaze's midsection and the demonic ninja jumped back. However, Naruto suddenly unleashed a burst of chakra from his feet, boosting him forward fast enough that not even Makaze could dodge in time. Naruto slashed Makaze across the chest, leaving a diagonal slash from his right shoulder to his left hip.

"You'll have to be faster if you want to beat me. If you think I'm going to roll over and allow you to win, then you are truly crazier than you appear." Naruto said with a smirk.

Makaze's expression darkened as his chakra flared. He rushed towards Naruto determined to finish this fight.

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The weary team eight and their charges approached the country of Emi and Ami. They were surprised to see that the huge town bordered the ocean.

"Home sweet home!" Ami yelled in happiness as she rushed ahead. Emi continued to walk calmly, thought it was obvious that she too was pleased to finally be home. Both girls had expressed concern for the team when they came to retrieve them. However, Ami once again angered Hinata when she requested that she could hold onto Naruto for the duration of the trip. Her reply came in the form of Hinata nearly drawing a kunai.

Team eight looked at the large town that made up the capital of the girls' country. It was fairly modern as it had casinos, markets, and stores. The people looked at them and their rough appearance and were confused. However, that confusion disappeared when they saw Emi and Ami. They all brightened at the sight of the girls, though the children and young generation seemed to favor Ami while the elderly seemed more favorable towards Emi. If anyone on team eight noticed, which they did, they kept it to themselves.

"We need a place to stay for the night." Haku said after the girls finish greeting the villagers. Haku and Hinata were loathe to stay in the girls' presence any longer, but they knew that Shino needed time to recover and there was truly no telling how long Naruto would be unconscious.

"You can stay at our home." Emi said softly. The team noticed that Emi seemed to withdraw a bit once she spoke this and Ami as well seemed to lose a bit of her usual energy.

'I wonder what could have happened?' the three remaining members of team eight thought.

"Thank you." Shino said softly. He was still favoring his ribs and was grateful that they were opening their home to the team.

"It's the least we can do Shino-san." Emi said as her earlier discomfort left her body.

"Let's hurry please." Hinata said in concern as she watched Naruto's body. He hadn't moved at all from the position Haku had placed him in over her back.

"Follow me!" Ami said as she ran full speed towards their house. Team eight sweat dropped at the girl enthusiasm.

"I believe that you should follow me instead." Emi said as she set a much more relaxed pace towards their house.

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"Come on!" Naruto yelled as he slashed Makaze across the back. Makaze snarled in pain as he turned and slammed a massive kick into the side of Naruto's head. Both combatants jumped back to assess their injuries. Naruto was breathing harder than Makaze, for good reason. To keep up with his speed Naruto was forced to constantly send burst of chakra to his feet to accelerate his body enough to land a blow. Makaze, however, was not in perfect condition either. Every slash from the sword left a wound that would not heal and the demonic ninja was finding Naruto a tougher opponent than he had ever expected.

'**I never thought his will to win would be this powerful. I need to tip this into my favor.**' Makaze thought.

"**You are proving to be much more of a challenge than I thought Naruto. But it's time to end this! Ninja Art: Piercing Darkness Jutsu!**" Makaze yelled as Naruto's world faded into darkness.

Naruto didn't bother to look around he closed his eyes and pulled his headband over them.

"**Covering your eyes won't be enough!**" Naruto heard from somewhere in the darkness. Naruto didn't respond.

Naruto let out a deep breath and simply concentrated. He didn't focus on his surrounding, nor did he trust any of his senses. Even now, he could feel his senses being distorted and twisted by the technique. Had Naruto been alone, he would be in very deep trouble. Fortunately, Naruto was never truly alone.

'I have you with me.' Naruto thought as his hand tightened on his sword. He hadn't forgotten the lesson he learned from the mysterious man. His sword was much more than simply a weapon for him to use. It was a comrade and he would put his trust in his friend.

Naruto ducked his head suddenly, surprising Makaze who had been about to kick him in the head. Makaze shook off his surprise and faded into the darkness again. Naruto mentally thanked his sword for the assistance and felt a wave of approval from it. Naruto suddenly jumped up and slashed with his blade. Makaze cried out in pain as a deep slash was placed on his torso. Makaze's expression darkened considerably and with a roar of rage he attacked Naruto in fury. Naruto was stunned at Makaze's increase in speed and strength. However, he also knew that Makaze wasn't thinking correctly for the moment.

'I have to take advantage of this!' Naruto thought as he continued to duck and dodge Makaze's numerous blows. Making up his mind, Naruto allowed a single opening. Makaze was quick to take advantage of this and stabbed Naruto in the right shoulder with his claws. Naruto grits his teeth from the intense pain, but refused to cry out. Naruto grabbed Makaze's arm with his left hand. Momentarily releasing his sword, Naruto then pulled Makaze's claws out of him. He then pulled Makaze forward and punched him in the chest with his right arm. Before Makaze could recover, Naruto whipped him around by his still held hand and threw him into the surrounding darkness. Naruto was quick to pick up his blade.

"**Dragon Strike!**" Naruto yelled as the darkness was illuminated by the dragon shaped blast. Naruto had trusted his sword to alert him as to Makaze's location and if the agonized cry that came from somewhere in the darkness was any indication, then it was trust well placed.

The piercing darkness technique finally dissipated, and Naruto saw the damage Makaze had taken. His cloths from the waist up were completely shredded and he was bleeding from various places on his body. He was panting heavily and had a look of murder on his face. Naruto couldn't help but smile softly, though he himself was panting as well. He could tell that Makaze was aware of his own blunder of losing control of his anger and was just as upset at himself as he was at Naruto.

"A true ninja should control his anger Makaze." Naruto said in a mocking tone.

Makaze said nothing. He simply crossed his arms and a low rumbling growl began to emerge from his chest. Naruto was confused as to what he was doing until he felt a chill run up and down his spine. He couldn't identify it, but it felt as of something very bad was about to happen.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kyuubi's eyes widened as he felt a fairly significant amount of his power being drawn from him. He had been watching the fight with a great deal of interest and while he knew what Makaze was trying to do, he wasn't sure whether or not he should do something about it.

'**I guess I will allow it this time. After all, it will be very interesting seeing how the brat will deal with this.**' Kyuubi thought as he settled back down.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto's eyes widened in shock when Makaze let loose a roar that seemed to shake the entire space that they currently inhabited. His sword gave him a very large feeling of foreboding and Naruto could only watch as the red chakra around Makaze flared with more power than Naruto had ever felt from him before. The red chakra slowly wrapped around Makaze and his already long nails and teeth seemed to grow even larger. The red chakra surrounded Makaze completely and Naruto found himself staring in shock and fear as the chakra took on the form of a fox. There were two fox ears and a single tail, all made out of the crimson chakra.

"**Prepare yourself.**" Makaze said as he got on all fours. His wounds all seemed to close up and in a flash he disappeared. Naruto had no time to even sense the large warning from his blade before he felt the most intense pain erupt from his chest. He flew back from the punch Makaze had landed onto his chest and before Naruto could even take a breath, Makaze was on him. Makaze kicked him into the air and jumped up after him. Naruto was barely able to open his eyes and see that Makaze had overshot him. This had been deliberate as Makaze suddenly changed direction and slammed both of his legs into Naruto's chest. Naruto felt several of his ribs snap under the pressure and he was blown straight down into the ground. Makaze was far from finished as he flew down at an extreme speed and smashed into the prone laying Naruto.

Makaze stood up and with one hand and lifted Naruto up by his neck. Though his arm was broken, Naruto's hand was still firmly clasped around his blade's handle. That Naruto was alive was miraculous, that he was also conscious was nothing short of a miracle.

"**It seems the fox is on my side.**" Makaze said as he released Naruto. Naruto was falling to the ground in pain when Makaze turned and hit him with his tail of chakra. Naruto flew back and was unable to even cry out as he skidded across the ground.

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Team eight was surprised by the house they came to. While not nearly as grand as some of the clan estates around Konoha, the girls house was still very impressive. They all walked in and were not shocked that the interior was just as impressive as the exterior. Ami was waiting for them and seemed to be annoyed that they took so long.

"About time you got here." She said in annoyance.

"Some people would rather walk comfortably and in a respectable manner rather than run wildly." Emi responded.

"Whatever." Ami said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she turned to go to her room.

"Follow me please." Emi said as she walked up the stairs to the second level. She stopped by a room and nodded to Haku.

"You may stay here Haku-san." She said as she opened the door. The rooms were nice. Each held a queen sized bed, a window that allowed the resident to gaze out towards the vast ocean, and various other necessities that were not readily available at local inns.

"Where will we put Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. While Naruto hadn't moved since Makaze lost control, his hair and nails would occasionally change, scaring team eight into believing that Makaze was the one who would awaken in control of the body.

"He may stay in your room Hinata-san." Emi said simply. Hinata nodded in thanks and a bit of relief. She was afraid that Ami would try something if Naruto was in a room by himself.

"Where will I be staying?" Shino asked in his usual tone, though his expression showed that he really was dreading the answer.

"You may stay in my room if you wish." Emi said with a smile. Hinata shook her head at the statement and reminded herself not to leave Naruto's side until they left. Emi was the more reserved of the sisters and if she had those thoughts then there was no telling what Ami would do.

"No thank you." Shino said as he gave Haku a look to relax. Haku, while having gotten used to the girl's actions, was still contemplating the many different ways she could skewer Emi with her senbon and leave her without movement in her body.

"Very well, you may have the room next to mine." Emi said as she turned to leave. None failed to notice that the room she gave Haku was the furthest from Shino's room. However, they were too tired to say anything about it, yet.

Hinata walked into her room and laid Naruto down on the bed. Everytime his hair would turn orange, she would worry that Makaze was winning.

'Please Naruto-kun. Come back to me.' Hinata thought as she gently rubbed his whisker marks.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto stood, barely, with his sword in the ground as support. He was doing inventory on himself.

'A broken arm, busted ribs, punctured lung, compound fracture in my leg, concussion, and a partridge in a pear tree. What am I going to do now?' Naruto thought as he coughed up more blood. His body had never been in such a state.

Naruto watched as Makaze slowly stalked towards him. He wasn't all that surprised that the fox was helping Makaze. Makaze was almost as sadistic as the fox in a fight. Naruto had no idea how he was going to stand up to the massive amount of power Makaze was able to use. He knew all of their techniques and could actually use them to a higher degree than Naruto himself. For a brief moment Naruto wondered if he could actually win.

'_Please Naruto-kun. Come back to me._'

Naruto's eyes widened at the voice. He looked around but was already aware that Hinata was talking to him. She still believed in him, and thus he refused to allow himself to lose here. Naruto looked to his blade.

'I know you can hear me. Help me.' Naruto mentally asked.

"**This fight is now over!**" Makaze yelled as he rushed towards Naruto at a speed Naruto couldn't even begin to follow.

Makaze appeared in front of Naruto and slashed towards his face, seeking to end the fight. However, suddenly a bright golden burst of chakra enveloped Naruto. Makaze's blow was stopped and he jumped back in surprise. Naruto took a deep breath as the divine chakra enveloped him. It felt like nothing he had ever experienced before. The power spread throughout his entire being from his body to his very soul. Naruto opened his eyes and for a brief moment he saw the image of a dragon that put Drac to shame in terms of sheer size and power. The dragon was covered in gold scales, but that was all Naruto could discern as the dragon had its back to him. It suddenly disappeared, leaving Naruto momentarily frozen in place. The dragon had truly taken his very breath away.

He was ripped from his thoughts when his now healed right arm jumped up and blocked a savage kick from Makaze. He turned to look at his dark counterpart and grabbed his leg. Naruto threw Makaze away from himself and braced himself for another clash. Both combatants wearily watched the other. Makaze stared at the gold chakra that seemed to stick to Naruto like a second skin. While the chakra was not as wild as his own demonic chakra, it was easily just as powerful. Naruto's eyes were gold and his hair had taken on a much darker tone, leaving it the same color as gold and less like its original blonde color. The concentrated chakra had blown his jacket off and his shirt had burned away from the chakra. Makaze was very interested in the dragon shaped tattoo that appeared on Naruto's chest. It was a serpentine dragon, not unlike the shape of the dragon strike. It ran from his back, around his shoulder and the dragon's head stopped right over his heart.

"It's time to end this!" Naruto yelled as he disappeared. Makaze's eyes widened before he was hit in the face by Naruto. He stood up and wiped the blood from his lip. He smiled as he saw the look in Naruto's eyes. It seemed that he was finally prepared to fight!

"**Yes, it's time to end this!**" Makaze yelled as he and Naruto clashed. Their fists slammed into each other, releasing shock waves strong enough to be felt all the way back to the cage that held Kyuubi. Naruto had put his sword away for the moment. Makaze didn't use his claws.

For the moment they were content to battle with just their fists. Naruto punched Makaze in the head. Then, Naruto swept his feet out from underneath him and grabbed his leg before he could get off of the ground. Naruto spun him around and threw him away, running after him as soon as he released him. Makaze righted himself in mid air and dodged Naruto's follow up kick. He head butted Naruto in the face and followed up with a spin kick to the sternum. Naruto twisted after taking the blow and punched Makaze in the kidney. Makaze endured the blow and kicked Naruto in the knee. Naruto went down as Makaze grabbed him by the head and kneed him in the face twice. Naruto grabbed his knee as it came around for another hit and jumped to his feet, breaking Makaze's hold. Naruto jumped back as Makaze began to create hand signs.

"**Slicing Cyclone!**" Makaze yelled out as an enormous tornado shot out of his arm. Naruto ran straight forward into the wind attack. As soon as it hit him, Naruto launched his own offensive.

"**Hidden Shadow Snakes**!" Naruto yelled as his serpents grabbed Makaze. Naruto was thrown back, but Makaze was also pulled into the damaging wind attack. After it dissipated, Naruto kept his hold onto Makaze and hauled his counterpart towards him.

"**Rasengan!**" Naruto yelled as he thrust the spinning orb of chakra into Makaze's chest. Makaze yelled out in pain as he was thrown back.

"**Shadow clone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled as he sent ten clones after Makaze. Before Makaze could get up, the ten clones grabbed onto him and promptly exploded.

Naruto was not stupid enough to believe he had won so easily. He pulled out his sword as he knew that the kid gloves were about to come off. He was proven correct as Makaze's chakra exploded outward in anger. He rushed Naruto with his deadly claws and the fight was on once again.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Hinata wiped Naruto's sweat laced brow again and got up to get more cool water. Naruto had begun to grimace and his body had gotten a slight fever. She was unsure as to its meaning but all she could do was trust that he would be okay. She left their room and walked down towards the wash room. She wanted to hurry and she didn't trust Ami to do anything, though the girl had seemed to be content to wait until Naruto awoke.

She stopped suddenly when she came to a door at the end of the hallway. The girls had been happy to show them all of the rooms except for this one. Hinata let her curiosity get the better of her and opened the door. The room was easily the nicest in the entire house. She walked in and was in awe at the small chandelier above the king sized bed. The carpet was lush and clean and the walls were painted a beautiful royal blue color. Hinata's gaze settled on a few pictures on the stand beside the bed. She looked at them and was surprised to see a beautiful woman featured in all of them. It was obvious that this was Emi and Ami's mother. The twins took after her in terms of looks, though her hair was the color of Emi's. She had a beautiful smile and she could tell that they were all happy together. She felt a tug at her heart in remembrance of her own mother.

"Her name was Staci."

Hinata turned and saw Emi and Ami staring at her.

"I'm sorry if I am intruding." Hinata said quickly. Ami looked angered, but Emi seemed to calm her sister down.

"It's alright. She was a great leader of our village and an even better mother." Emi said in a solemn tone as Ami stayed uncharacteristically quiet.

"What happened?" Hinata asked kindly, she understood the pain losing a mother could cause. Hinata noticed that both girls seemed to grabbed their pendants.

"It doesn't matter. She's gone and not coming back." Ami said quickly. Her tone wasn't angered just sorrowful.

"I can only hope that I will be as good of a leader as she was." Emi said after taking a moment to compose herself.

"What are you talking about? I should be the one who takes over!" Ami yelled out in anger.

"And how do you come to that conclusion? A true leader needs to present themselves as such. You seem to forget that mother always held herself as a dignified woman." Emi said angrily. It was obvious that this was not a new argument between them.

"Mother also knew how to lighten up and take things easy. You are always professional; you think our people want a leader like you? They want someone they can relate to." Ami retorted hotly.

"And you think they will respect someone like you? Who can't even seem to dress as the leader of a country should?" Emi said just as angrily.

"I believe that a good leader needs both." Hinata said softly. She continued when she had the sisters' attention.

"Naruto wants to become the Hokage. It has been his dream for as long as I have known him and he has told me what a true leader needs to possess. He wants to protect the villagers and all of his precious people. I can tell by the welcome you were given that the people think highly of you. However, I believe that both of you are missing a key component that a leader needs. You need to learn to relate batter with the younger generation Emi, while you need to learn when to take your responsibilities seriously Ami and gain the respect of the older generation." Hinata said simply as she left the room. She could tell that the sisters' had heard her words, whether or not they would accept them was out of her hands.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto and Makaze had been fighting nonstop for some time now. Both were bleeding from various mounds, but neither slowed down. It was a battle between two massive powers that were determined, with everything that they were to come out victorious. It was an actual representation of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.

Naruto jumped back as he unleashed a dragon strike. In his transformed state, he could unleash as many as he wanted, though each one added took a larger part of his chakra. Makaze ripped through the blast and thrust his arm forward. A crimson hand made entirely of chakra grabbed Naruto and pulled him towards the demonic ninja. Naruto slashed the arm in half to gain freedom, though he was not fast enough to dodge the slash Makaze gave him across his chest. Naruto didn't really notice as he returned the favor with his sword. Both were littered in wounds ranging from small cuts to bleeding gashes. Makaze jumped back and held his hands forward.

"**Rasengan!**" He yelled as a crimson orb appeared in both of his hands. Makaze speed forward, determined to finish this fight. Naruto saw the approaching danger and slashed forward with his sword he was able to connect with the rasengan in Makaze's left hand, dispersing the orb. Makaze jumped up to avoid the follow up slash and his tail grabbed both of Naruto's wrists. Makaze landed behind Naruto and spun around. Naruto could do nothing but brace himself as the second rasengan was smashed into his unprotected side. Naruto flew back and rolled on the ground before righting himself. Makaze was instantly on him. He was able to slash Naruto across the chest, stab him in the shoulder and kick him in the head, all in a matter of seconds. Naruto cired out as he jumped to the sky. Makaze jumped up to flow him, which was a mistake.

Naruto snarled as he swung his sword with his good arm. Three golden dragon shaped blasts converged on Makaze, causing a massive explosion. Naruto began his decent towards the ground and saw the stunned Makaze fall of out of the resulting cloud of smoke from his earlier attack. Naruto sheath his sword and created a rasengan of his own. His rasengan was still blue, though there was a very noticeable gold coloring in the very center. Naruto slammed his rasengan towards Makaze's chest. However, Makaze was able to adjust his boy just enough that the rasengan connected with his right shoulder just as they hit the ground. Makaze wasn't able to restrain the scream of pain that the drilling sensation Naruto's rasengan caused. Naruto jumped back into the sky and his golden chakra flared.

"**Dragon Storm!**" Naruto yelled as he pointed his sword to the sky. The sky darkened ominously as the largest blast Naruto had ever unleashed appeared. The dragon was easily the size of a large mansion and was white in color as opposed to the normal gold. Makaze's eyes widened in shock as the blast slammed into him. The resulting blast of light was blinding and the explosion itself was loud enough to deafen Naruto for an instant.

Naruto dropped to the ground in exhaustion. His chakra was very low after that attack. In his transformed state it had simply come naturally. Though he wished that his sword would be specific about the amount of chakra such a technique warranted. Naruto was broken from his thoughts when he heard something strange. The strange sound was revealed when the smoke cleared. Makaze was not done yet.

Makaze had his mouth open wide as a large amount of crimson chakra flowed into it. Without warning, Makaze expelled a crimson beam of chakra towards Naruto.

"**Demon's bane!**" he roared as the beam flew towards Naruto. Naruto was still drained from his last attack and was only able to move slightly to the side before the beam struck him. Naruto could feel the compressed chakra in the beam before it struck and pain overwrote everything else. When the beam finally dissipated, both combatants were staring at each other, panting in exhaustion.

The demon's bane had struck Naruto in the left arm and the limb now hung useless at his side. It was completely burnt and Naruto had no doubt that without the golden aura surrounding him, he would have lost the arm. He was on one knee and was having a great deal of trouble getting to his feet. Makaze was not in any better condition. His right arm was unresponsive after receiving the blow from Naruto's rasengan. His left eye was blurred and he, like Naruto, was having a hard time getting to his feet.

"**This is some fight, eh Naruto.**" He said with a smile as he slowly got to his feet. Naruto didn't respond as he too got to his feet. They stared at each other for a moment, and for just that moment, a small measure of respect flashed between them.

Makaze raised his left hand and a rasengan appeared. He thrust his hand forward and the rasengan was carried by the crimson arm of chakra towards Naruto. Makaze didn't think he had the speed necessary to deliver the blow himself. Naruto was shocked by this but didn't have time to dwell on it before he felt a prompt from his sword. He looked down and saw that the dragon tattoo on his body had moved from his chest. The tattoo was now wound around his right arm and the dragon head stopped directly over the back of his hand. Naruto put his arm forward and concentrated. The golden glow around him concentrated into the tattoo and he thrust his arm forward. A dragon's roar was heard as a beam of pure white erupted from his palm. It collided with the crimson arm and an explosion that shook the entire mindscape was the result. Makaze opened his eyes after the shockwave left. Naruto suddenly appeared through the dust cloud. He wasn't moving at anywhere near full speed. Naruto struck down with his blade as Makaze's tail jumped up to block. The sword was halted for a moment before it cleaved through the appendage of chakra. Makaze was stunned but acted quickly and kicked Naruto's wrist. Naruto dropped his sword and Makaze punched him in the face with his hand. Naruto jumped back and saw Makaze coming at him with a rasengan in his hand. Naruto formed a rasengan of his own.

As one, they thrust their respective rasengan's towards one another and the orbs of chakra collided together. It had now become a contest of will and strength and both could tell that whoever won this final struggle would be the victor.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Hinata was resting comfortably when she heard a crash in the house. She was instantly awake and jumped to her feet. She ran out of the room to find out what had happened. Haku met her in the hall. Shino hadn't yet appeared, which was cause for alarm. They counted on Shino's insects to guard the house while they slept. They opened Shino's door to find him bound and unable to move or talk. Haku went to help him while Hinata went to check on the girls. She went to Emi and Ami's room and found them both gone. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

'Kane.' Hinata thought. She was confused as to how he had gotten in, but decided to save that question for another time. She ran back to Haku and Shino and told them what had happened. Shino tilted his head for a moment and finally spoke.

"Kane is very skilled indeed. He was able to infiltrate the house and knew to take me out first. He bound me with steel wire. My insects were unable to break them." Shino said with a bit of indignation at being caught unawares. Even the most prepared shinobi was caught off guard at one time or another.

"We have to find them!" Haku said in concern. Hinata didn't want to leave Naruto, but she knew that she had no choice.

"I was able to send my insects after them before he could escape." Shino said as he stood and winced. His ribs were stilled far from being fully healed. He would be able to lead them to him, but he would be a liability if he fought.

"Just get us there Shino-kun." Haku said, sensing his feeling of uselessness.

"Follow me." He said as they all leapt to find their charges and protect them from whatever Kane had planned.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Emi slowly opened her eyes and noticed that she was unable to move her hands or feet. She was obviously in a cave, if the dank darkness was any clue.

'What happened?' She thought and she looked around. She saw her sister was also in the same state that she was in, though she hadn't yet awoken.

"I see you are awake."

Emi turned her head and saw Kane standing in front of her. How he had appeared so quickly she couldn't saw, but she felt a wave of fear come over her.

"Don't worry, I haven't come for your life." Kane said as he pulled off the cloth that covered her mouth.

"What do you want then?" Emi asked in as calm a voice as she was able to force out.

Kane didn't respond, he simply held his hand up and Emi's eyes widened when she saw that he held the girls pendants. Emi's blood ran cold in fear as she discovered what he had planned.

"No! You mustn't!" Emi cried out in fear and anger. Her outcry was enough to awaken Ami, who looked confused for a moment before the reality of the situation settled upon her.

"I am from the hidden rain country and for the longest time we have been in a state of civil war. My leader, Hanzo-sama, is worried about the chances of victory for our side and thus he looked extensively for something to help tip things in our favor. He remembered your country and how it was able to withstand being conquered by us for such a long time. You have no shinobi and your alliance to the leaf village was just created. Every time we attempt to invade with a small number of ninja we believed was necessary to defeat you, they all would suddenly disappear. I wondered why that was." Kane said softly. Neither Emi nor Ami responded, though they could tell that it didn't really matter. He knew the secret of their country.

"It's amazing what one can discover if they ask the right people and have the right amount of money. I know full well that these two pendants control a beast that is said to guard your country. I also know that your mother, before she died, was the one who possessed both of these pendants. That she gave only one to each of you shows that neither of you were considered by her to be ready to be the true leader of your country." Kane continued. The words cut deeply into the girls, who had been thinking the very same ever since their mother gave them each a pendant on her death bed. It had never happened before. For as long as they could remember they were told that the ruler of their country held both pendants. They had debated long and hard over whom should give theirs up, but neither were willing to give in.

"When united, the pendants will tame the beast of the sea." Kane said softly as he walked out of the cave they were in and looked out at the vast ocean in front of him.

"This beast will serve us. All I need to know is how to awaken the best." Kane said as he looked at the girls. Both Emi and Ami snorted, telling Kane that he could forget about being told that secret.

"I really didn't want to do anything such as this." Kane said as he pulled out his remaining katana. He walked over to Ami and put the blade to her throat. Her eyes held intense fear but she refused to speak. Emi watched all of this as panic began to blossom in her chest. They had been taught by their mother that they should never give up hope, nor should they ever betray their country.

"You don't want to summon it!" Emi yelled to Kane.

"And why is that?" Kane asked in a curious tone.

"Summoning the beast will be the death of you. When unleashed it takes such a strain on the body of the one to summon the beast that their bodies eventually give out on them!" Emi yelled as her eyes fell to her lap. This had been what had killed their mother. She had protected their country for years. Whenever there was a threat she would summon the beast, with no regard for her life. She knew the consequences and on her death bed she smiled and told the girls that she never regretted her decision. Her only regret was that she wouldn't live long enough to watch them grow into beautiful women.

"That doesn't concern me. A true shinobi doesn't fear death." Kane said as he stabbed Ami in the leg. Her scream of agony brought tears to Emi's eyes.

"Please stop!" She yelled. She couldn't bear her sister's pain. Though they didn't see eye to eye on many things, they still loved each other with all that they were.

"Tell me how to summon the beast." Kane said simply. He didn't seem to care one way or the other about Ami's pain.

"It will take both of us to summon it." Emi said in defeat.

"Then get to it." He said as he cut away their bonds. They wouldn't be able to escape anyway.

The girls looked at one another and shook with fear. The very thought of what they were about to do sent chills throughout their body.

"Great beast of the sea, please hear my plea. By the power of the pendants entrusted to me, come forth and destroy my enemy. That all that come to fight, may bear witness to your awesome might!" Both girls said as one. Suddenly the two pendants in Kane's hands began to glow and a low ringing sound began to come from them. Kane placed them around his neck and walked towards the sea, the girls forgotten. Without the pendants, they wouldn't be able to stop what was to come. He turned his head when he saw the three konoha shinobi coming his way.

"You are too late. Far too late." Kane said as the sky, once clear and blue, darkened until the sky was as black as night. The sea began to become turbulent and large waves began to form. Hinata, Haku and Shino arrived just as a deep animalistic groan came from the ocean. Their eyes widened in terror as giant tentacles rose from the sea. There were dozens of them, all as long as ships and as thick as buildings. A gigantic dark form was underneath the ocean and was slowly moving towards Kane. It surfaced and Kane found himself standing on its head. The eyes were as large as the girls' house. Its skin was a dark gray and it had bit's of underwater vegetation on various parts of it. Its many tentacles were surrounding the maw of the beast. It opened its mouth and rows upon rows of lethal teeth were shown as it let loose a roar that had all of team eight trembling.

"Bear witness Konoha shinobi, to the Kraken!" Kane said as a smile appeared on his face.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The sound was deafening. The two super powered rasengans clashed together in the ultimate form of good versus evil, light versus darkness. The crimson red orb smashed against its golden counterpart. Crimson eyes met the golden eye of his other half. Naruto and Makaze's expressions were both locked to one another's. Neither of them would give an inch. Neither of them would accept defeat. Both of their powers were draining quickly. Naruto's gold aura was now solely focused around his hand. Makaze's crimson aura was still present, but the outline of the fox had long since disappeared. How long they had been in their respective positions, they didn't know, but neither did they care. Their minds were intensely focused on the fact that the victor of this contest would be the victor of the fight.

Suddenly something strange happened. Naruto began to overpower Makaze. Makaze's eyes widened in confusion.

"**What's going on?!**" he yelled out as he rasengan became smaller and smaller. Naruto, not one to let an opportunity go to waste, pushed with all of his strength.

"**RASENGAN!**" Naruto yelled as he slammed the orb of chakra into Makaze's chest. Makaze let out a strangled gasp as the ball of chakra bore straight into his heart. Makaze fell to the ground, unmoving.

Naruto fell to his knees as the divine chakra left his body. He felt all of his injuries finally catch up to him. He was panting as he used his remaining strength to slowly crawl over to his sword. As soon as he touched the blade, the bright flash of light appeared. He opened his eyes to find himself back in front of the cage that held back the fox. Makaze's unmoving form was there as well.

"**You won. Congratulations kit.**" Kyuubi said in a tone that was surprisingly sincere.

"Why did you do that?" Naruto asked. He knew why Makaze's power had suddenly dropped. The only way something like that could have happened is that Kyuubi took back the large boost of chakra he allowed Makaze to use earlier.

Kyuubi was silent for a long moment, as if he was trying to figure out his reasons as well.

"**It was necessary. He could not be allowed to win**." Kyuubi said.

"Why?"

"**The only way for you to survive, and thus for me to survive, is if you won the fight. My motives are unimportant for the moment. As you can see, his body is still here. You destroyed his persona but not him.**" Kyuubi said.

"What?! That's insane! The whole point of this was to lock him up forever!" Naruto yelled with what little strength he had left.

"**Silence! Don't be such an idiot! Every human has the capacity for good as well as evil. You are no different. He was your darkness. You must accept that he is a part of you and always will be. If you forgot, his very existence came from you refusing to accept your own darkness. If you refuse now, then he will eventually return.**" Kyuubi said with a snarl. Naruto had gained a good deal of his respect but he refused to be yelled at by someone inferior to him.

Naruto looked at Makaze's body and remembered all the pain he went through during the early years of his life.

'_Demon!_'

'_Devil-child!_'

'_Orphan'_

'_Die!_'

'_You don't belong here!_'

'_Monster!_"

'_No_ _one loves you_!'

All of these things were told to him continuously as a child. He always used to put on a happy face and suppress the hate, pain, rage, and intense sadness that those words brought into him. He felt that if he were accept those feelings at a young age then he would truly become what they said. As he grew, he never truly accepted the dark feelings he had felt at such a young age.

"**It's time to accept that part of yourself kit.**" Kyuubi said after seeing Naruto think it over.

Naruto looked to his sword and felt its approval and acceptance. He needed to be whole, which meant accepting all parts of himself. Naruto walked over to the body of Makaze and placed his hand over the whole where his heart used to be. Makaze' body slowly disappeared and Naruto suddenly felt a strange sensation. It was like finding something you didn't notice was missing until you had it back. Naruto opened his eyes to see that his wounds had disappeared. Naruto felt stronger, he felt whole.

"**It's time for you to leave kit. And not a moment too soon, your mate and pack are in trouble.**" Kyuubi said. Naruto turned his eyes towards the fox and nodded his head. He disappeared as he regained control over his body.

"**You are very interesting Naruto Uzumaki. But I wonder, how will you handle the kraken.**" Kyuubi said to himself as he settled down to watch the coming fight.

"**I will have to help him this time.**" A feminine voice said.

Kyuubi looked up and snorted in amusement.

"**You? Well this will certainly be interesting.**" Kyuubi said as the other presence disappeared and Kyuubi found himself alone once again.

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Naruto opened his eyes and found himself in a strange bed in a room he didn't recognize. He didn't dwell on this as he knew his friends were in trouble. Naruto leapt up and grabbed his blade. He ran full speed out of the house towards the ocean.

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**Here's chapter 37! Naruto is victorious and finally whole. How is going to help Naruto? How will Hinata, Shino and Haku hang on long enough for him to reach them? That is a secret! Find out next time for the conclusion of this arc! Till then, Kyuubi123 out!!!!**


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

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Naruto raced towards the ocean at speeds he had never before achieved. He couldn't explain it but it felt as if his entire body was completely energized, for a brief moment.

'I'll figure it out later. I've got to help them! Wait for me guys.' Naruto thought.

Suddenly Naruto felt his sword pulsate and he quickly drew it from its sheath.

'_Summon me_'

Naruto stopped suddenly in surprise. He noticed a faint light blue aura around his blade that had appeared when the voice had spoken to him. It sounded feminine, but also had an edge to it. Naruto shook his head and set off towards the giant form of the kraken. As Naruto pushed himself to make it in time to help his team he once again heard the voice speak to him.

'_Summon me_'

'I will.' Naruto thought as his grip tightened on his sword. He would trust the voice and hope for the best. He still remembered Kyuubi's warning that he would need something stronger than Drac to defeat the kraken.

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Hinata jumped back once again from one of the gigantic tentacles of the kraken. No matter how they attempted to harm the giant beast, they were never able to do anything but anger it further. She risked looking towards Shino and Haku to see how they were fairing. Shino was mainly running away as none of his insects or techniques were terribly affective against the monster. Haku was attempting to freeze a tentacle but it was not going well. Kane was simply watching the cruelly one-sided fight. It was only a matter of time before they were ensnared by a tentacle and pulled into the giant maw of the ancient beast.

Hinata was snapped from her thoughts as she jumped to the side to avoid being swatted by a tentacle. She threw a kunai with an exploding note onto the appendage. The resulting explosion did little damage at all, but it did but her time to think of a strategy.

"Hinata!"

Hinata turned too late before she was ensnared by a second tentacle that she hadn't been able to avoid. She was still not completely recovered from her injuries and she had been too slow to avoid the appendage wrapping around her from behind. She struggled with all of her might to avoid being pulled into the now open maw of the kraken. It was a horrific sight with rows upon rows of teeth waiting to sink themselves into her.

Shino and Haku yelled in alarm as they attempted to rescue their captured teammate, but they were unable to do anything as they themselves were continuously on the move to keep from being ensnared as well.

"**Dragon Strike!**"

All present parties were surprised by the golden dragon shaped blast that slammed into the tentacle holding Hinata. It did little but burn the skin but that was all that was necessary for the kraken to give a cry of anger and release Hinata. Hinata was suddenly caught in midair and found herself staring into the clear blue eyes of Naruto. For only a moment, time seemed to stop for the two of them as they shared a look of peace and reassurance. Hinata hesitantly raised a hand and placed it on his whiskered cheek. Naruto gave her a warm smile to let her know that he was really there. She stared into the deep blue eyes of Naruto and was a little surprised to see a strange type of weariness in them. It was as if he had finally come to realize something and this realization brought him an extra burden to carry.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata said as tears began to gather in her eyes.

"I'm alright Hinata-chan." Naruto said as he set her down. Their moment was broken when Naruto's eyes hardened and he grabbed Hinata to jump away from the tentacle that was attempting to smash them while they were preoccupied. Naruto continued to hold Hinata as the kraken seemed to turn its attention onto Naruto. It seemed angered at finally being harmed, if on slightly, and was focusing his rage onto him.

"Hinata-chan, get Shino and Haku and go take out Kane. I'll take care of the rest." He said as he set her down and moved away from her to keep the beast's attention on him. Hinata quickly ran over to Shino and Haku and told them what Naruto had relied to her.

"How does he plan to take on that beast by himself?" Haku asked.

"It's Naruto. He'll think of something." Shino replied softly.

"Let's leave it to him. We've got something else to take care of." Hinata said as she looked over to where Kane was standing.

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Kane had observed the entire set of actions and drew his sword as he prepared for the three ninja that were swiftly approaching. He was far from worried. He had no doubt that the kraken would handle the blonde ninja swiftly and soon enough he would be bringing the beast back to Ame to be used to finally attain victory for his faction.

He ducked underneath the kick that Shino sent his way and turned to avoid a swift strike to his midsection from Hinata. Haku threw senbon at him, hoping to catch him off guard. However, he blocked with his sword and leapt away before any could strike his nerve centers.

"You'll have to do much better than that." Kane said as he rushed to attack. His speed took them by surprise and he was able to kick Hinata in the chest before they could react. He swiftly back flipped to avoid the kick Haku sent towards his chest. Shino unleashed his insects and the horde flew towards the retreating jonin. Kane ran through hand signs and suddenly a wave of water flowed and drowned the insects. The wave didn't stop there as it surged forward to hit Shino in the chest. The bug user was surprised by the strength of the attack and was left helpless for a moment. Kane, swift to take advantage raced forward to finish off Shino. He wasn't surprised when he saw Haku get between him and his target. What did surprise him was when Haku quickly unsealed Zabuza's sword. Any ninja worth his headband would recognize the weapon of one of the seven swordsmen of the hidden mist. Regardless, he continued his attack and their blades clashed. Haku, with a look of rage in her eyes, pressed forward in attack. Her strikes were swift and powerful but she simply couldn't hit the rain jonin. He dodged most of her strikes, and the rest he simply blocked with his blade.

'Why can't I hit him?!' Haku thought in frustration. Kane's expression suddenly hardened and he went in to attack. He slashed at Haku's head, only for the female chunin to block. He swiftly struck her in the side and followed up with an uppercut to the chin. Haku was dazed but still had the wherewithal to bring her blade up to block the sword strike that would have gone straight through her chest had she not acted swiftly enough. Haku jumped back to regroup, but Kane had other plans. Kane pressed his advantage and continued to attack Haku. He stopped his charge when a kunai flew towards his head. He avoided the attack and jumped back when a mass of translucent strands of silk attempted to ensnare him. He looked up as Hinata and Shino appeared on either side of their teammate and help her to her feet.

"You fight admirably, but you are far from strong enough to defeat me." Kane said in a matter of fact tone.

"Underestimate us at your own risk." Shino said as he adjusted his shades.

"Then show me that I am wrong. Show me your strength!" Kane said as his chakra flared.

Team eight readied themselves. However, all present parties looked up to the sky in surprise as they heard a bestial roar and felt a massive amount of chakra appear.

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Naruto scowled in annoyance as he once again dodged one of the massive appendages of the kraken. The beast seemed infuriated that he had given it an injury, regardless of how small it was.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled out as a thousand clones appeared. The clones all rushed towards the kraken with the intent of overwhelming the massive behemoth. Not at all deterred, the kraken immediately began to decimate the clones. Of the one thousand created, only one hundred were able to actually get close enough to the beast the attempt an attack.

"**Slicing Cyclone**!"

One hundred tornados appeared and slammed into the tentacles that were closest to the clones. Though small in size, the attack was powerful enough to slightly damage the appendages. However, disabling them was not Naruto's plan at all. He simply wanted the kraken's attention diverted.

"**Dragon Storm!**" Naruto yelled as he held his pointed his sword towards the kraken. The sky above the giant beast darkened as the massive white dragon shaped blast flew from the sky to crash into the kraken. The ancient beast had no time to move as it was enveloped in the attack. Naruto suddenly found himself very low on energy.

'Note to self, don't ever unleash that attack without first being infused with the divine chakra; especially after creating so many clones.' Naruto thought with a small pant. Fusing with Makaze had given him a significant boost in chakra but his body was still recovering from his earlier battles and the Dragon Storm required a great deal more chakra then the Dragon Strike. Naruto looked on as his remaining shadow clones cautiously approached the still smoking cloud that was created as the attack hit the kraken. Suddenly, Naruto's mind was assaulted with the dispersion of all of his remaining clones all at once.

'What the heck?!' Naruto thought in confusion as he held his head to stem the headache forming. He looked up but couldn't see anything at all.

'Wait! Where's the kraken?!' Naruto thought. As the smoke dispersed he saw nothing in front of him. He was not foolish enough to believe that the kraken was disintegrated by the attack. Naruto looked all around him but there was no sign of the beast. With a sudden moment of clarity Naruto looked down. Below him was the massive form of the beast. Naruto jumped up as the tentacles erupted around him. Naruto dodged them as best he could, but he was eventually grabbed by one of the appendages. He was swiftly pulled under water. When Naruto's eyes focused he found himself staring right down the maw of the giant beast. Having no time to think, Naruto clutched his blade.

'Help!' Naruto thought as he felt the answering pulse from his sword. A wave of chakra expelled from Naruto and he was able to disentangle himself. He swam to the surface and quickly held his sword to the sky.

"Come Forth!" Naruto yelled as a beam of light expelled from his sword and flew to the sky. Naruto jumped out of the water as the tentacles of the kraken burst from the water. The kraken itself soon resurfaced to catch its elusive prey.

Before the kraken could attack a thunderous roar was unleashed. Naruto, who never took his eyes off of the sky, smiled as a form appeared from the sky. Naruto instantly knew that this dragon was female as her body was much more slender and lithe than that of Drac's. Her scales were a very light bluish white and she, like Drac, had a gem on her forehead. Unlike Drac, however, the gem was while in color, just like her eyes.

"**Thank you for summoning me. It has been such a long time since I have been able to stretch my wings.**" The dragon said to Naruto as she hovered above him. Naruto noticed that her voice was the same as the one that spoke to him on the way over to the battle.

"You asked me to summon you. Who are you?" Naruto asked as he gave a brief glance back to the kraken. The beast, for the moment, seemed frozen in place. It was simply observing the dragon with a critical eye.

"**You may call me Tatsuya.**" She said in a slightly distracted tone. Her eyes were locked onto the kraken and her whole body seemed tense.

"**Now that we've got the introductions out of the way may we please get to the part where we send this oversized piece of sushi back to where it came from, in pieces?**" Tatsuya said with a snarl of anticipation.

'Ooookay, she's a bit more anxious than Drac.' Naruto thought with a sweat drop. He was broken from his thoughts when he saw the kraken let out a roar. He jumped up and landed onto Tatsuya's head.

"**Now that's more like it!**" She said as she let out a roar of her own. She dove toward the kraken in an impressive amount of speed. Naruto had to force chakra into his feet to hang on.

"Whoa! Slow down!" Naruto yelled out.

"**Sorry kid but it's been far too long since I had a fight!**" Tatsuya said with a grin on her face. She dodged the tentacle that came towards them. She opened her mouth and a beam impacted the appendage. The tentacle instantly froze and Tatsuya followed up with a swift strike of her lithe tail to smash the now frozen appendage into multiple ice shards. The kraken let out a roar of rage and pain.

"**HAHAHA**! **How do you like me now?!**" Tatsuya said with a booming laugh.

"Umm you know that it has more that one of those things right?" Naruto asked with a twitch in his eye. He found Tatsuya's enthusiastic personality very……interesting.

"**I know, I know. I'll deal with those next. Lighten up a bit kid.**" She said as she flew towards the kraken again. She dodged every single of the attempts by the kraken to ensnare her and continued to freeze and destroy its tentacles. Soon there were only five of them left and the kraken seemed all but beaten.

"**See kid, what did I tell you, nothing to worry about.**" She said as she flew towards the kraken to finish it off. However when she got too close the kraken opened its maw and spewed a jet of black ink that hit Tatsuya directly in the face.

"**Ahhh!**" She cried out as she was blinded. Naruto was not immune either as he himself was covered from head to toe in the sticky black tar.

The kraken immediately pressed its advantage as it grabbed Tatsuya with its remaining tentacles and pulled them under water.

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"It looks like I was concerned for nothing. While your friend's ability to summon dragon's is very interesting, it won't be enough to save him or his little lizard friend." Kane said as he stared at the exhausted forms of Haku, Hinata and Shino.

They had fought long and hard against Kane, but the man was simply above their level. Hinata was far from full recovered from her earlier wounds, as was Shino, and Haku had to divide her time between attacking Kane and defending her friends.

'We won't last much longer unless we do something!' Hinata thought with a pant as she tried to think of a way through Kane's defenses. Kane was far from unharmed from their earlier attacks. His left arm was badly damaged to the point that he was only using his right to use his sword. He had a nasty stab wound on his side that was bleeding, and his body was covered from bruises and small cuts. However, if things continued as they were then he would easily defeat them before they were able to do the same.

"It's time to end this pointless battle. Die!" Kane said and he charged straight towards them.

Hinata threw her senbon and kunai at him to make him divert from his path. However, he refused to be distracted.

"**Ninja art: Tidal surge!**" He yelled as a wave swept the projectiles away and continued on towards team eight. They all separated to avoid being hit. Kane appeared directly in front of Shino and kicked him in his already heavily damaged ribs. They had yet to mend from the severe punishment that Makaze had inflicted on them and Shino gave a silent cry of pure agony as he was launched back and began to sink in the water. The fact that he was not instinctually using the water walking technique showed that he was out of the fight.

"Shino-kun!" Haku yelled out as she went to help him. Kane jumped in front of her and slashed towards her head. Haku was able to get her giant blade up to block in time to avoid losing her head. She jumped back as she avoided a slash towards her chest.

'I am low on chakra but I will have to risk it!' Haku thought in anger and desperation as she pulled out her trump card.

"**Ninja art: Demon Ice Mirrors!**"

Kane stood with a surprised look on her face as ice mirrors appeared all around him. An image of Haku appeared in each of them, all holding their swords.

"Very interesting technique." Kane commented.

"This is where you die!" Haku yelled out as she attacked. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold this jutsu long. It took far too much energy and her reserves were already dangerously low from the hard fought battles they had all been in. She could only hold it for a few seconds, thus she had to make her first few strikes count.

Haku's speed was unreadable during this technique and her first strike severed Kane's arm from his body. Not giving him any time to react. She had her second strike take both his legs. She could have simply taken his head with the first strike, but she was taking revenge for Shino. Her final strike took his head, leaving the mangled body to fall into the water.

Haku released her technique and fell to her knees. She barely had the charka left to even remain standing on the water.

'At least it's over.' She thought wearily.

"Haku!"

Haku stood shakily and turned to look at Hinata. Haku was happy to see that Hinata had Shino's unconscious body with her, but she was confused as to why her friend's eyes were wide in fear.

"I am disappointed that a chunin would fall for a genjutsu so easily."

Haku's eyes widened at the voice. Her vision suddenly wavered and when it returned to normal she found herself staring directly into Kane's face. She couldn't believe that she had fallen for a genjutstu. She hadn't even seen him create hand signs.

"You should know as the leader to never take your eyes off of the opponent." Kane said as he kicked Zabuza's sword out of her grasp. He proceeded to stab her in the shoulder and kick her in the chest. Haku was left defenseless under his assault and her vision was beginning to blur. Kane raced forward to take her life when he had to suddenly jump to the left to avoid being skewered by a multitude of senbon, courtesy of Hinata.

"H-Hinata." Haku said in exhaustion.

"Haku, take Shino to where Emi and Ami are standing. Neither of you can fight anymore." Hinata said never taking her eyes off of Kane.

"Neither can you! Your wounds are far from healed!" Haku argued.

"I am in better shape than you." Hinata retorted with a stare that brokered no argument.

"Very well, just don't die Hinata." Haku said as she took Shino's still form from Hinata and raced towards the caves along the shore.

"Are you certain that that was a good idea? You must know that you have no chance against me." Kane said simply.

"We'll see." Hinata said as she prepared herself.

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Naruto didn't need his eyesight to know that he was underwater. He couldn't breathe, nor could he see. He furiously wiped the ink from his eyes, attempting to clear his vision. When he finally was able to see, he found himself once again staring down the maw of the kraken.

'Not again!' Naruto thought in annoyance.

Thankfully, Tatsuya was also able to shake enough of the ink from her face realize just how precarious their position was. However, before she could react, the kraken clamped its jaws over her right arm causing Tatsuya to give a roar of pain. This very outcry caused water to flow into her lungs. The kraken, sensing victory, began to pull them down further into the sea, hoping to drown them.

'**No way am I going to become food for this overgrown squid!**' She thought as her body began to glow white. Tatsuya roared and used all of her strength to fly upward. With an impressive show of power, she was able to take flight with the kraken in tow. They broke the surface of the water and began to fly upward.

"**Get off now kid!**" She cried out to Naruto. Naruto quickly jumped down and looked up into the sky to see that Tatsuya had drawn the kraken's entire body out of the water.

"**I've had enough of you!**" Tatsuya cried out in fury as the jewel on her forehead began to glow a bright white.

"**Dragon's Hailstorm!**"

Tatsuya's body began to change. Her bluish white scales took on a clear, smooth shine. Her entire body was now enshrouded in ice. The Kraken released its tentacles quickly to avoid them being frozen. It had hoped that it could fall back into the safety of the sea before the dragon let loose its fury.

Tatsuya would have none of that, however. The ice covering on her body suddenly burst from her into an innumerable amount of ice shards. These shards began to spin until Tatsuya seemed pleased with their velocity. These shards then flew and surrounded the falling form of the kraken.

"**Say goodbye now**." She said with a dark smile as she made a slight gesture with her head. The fast spinning shards converged on the kraken and began to slice it to pieces. The shards went through its body like hot knifes through butter, barely slowing down once they went through and swiftly turning around to strike again. It wasn't long before the Kraken was little more than a mass of sliced meat.

Naruto jumped away as huge chunks of flesh feel into the sea. It didn't take a genius to see that the Kraken would no longer be a threat to anyone.

"**It feels so good to be able to stretch my wings again.**"

Naruto looked up to see Tatsuya with a large smile on her face.

"You're a bit different than Drac." Naruto said simply. He was unsure of Tatsuya. She was powerful but unlike Drac, she was a bit sadistic when fighting. She seemed to have no qualms with killing the Kraken once it upset her.

"**Of course I am. Did you really believe that all of us dragons would be like my little brother? Even though he's powerful, he still has a lot to learn about fighting.**" She replied in a nonchalant tone.

"Drac's your brother?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"**Isn't that what I just said? I'm beginning to wonder if you are as worthy as Drac makes you out to be. It's only because he told me to trust you that I helped you out.**" Tatsuya said as she gave him a critical eye.

"I don't suppose that this means that all of the rest will be as helpful as you and Drac?" Naruto asked her.

"**Don't count on it. I happen to love and respect my little brother, thus I am willing to allow you to summon me as well. However, there are a few of us who are skeptical of Drac's opinion of you.**" Tatsuya replied as she took to the sky.

"Where are you going?" Naruto called out after her.

"**There's nothing else here that's worth my time. It was fun while it lasted but I'm not the conversing type. Summon Drac if you really want to play 20 questions.**" She replied in a bored tone as she disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Naruto could only shake his head at the strange dragon and wondered if the rest would be like her.

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'Maybe trying to take him on alone was a foolish idea.' Hinata thought with a pant.

She was currently on one knee in exhaustion. She had fought Kane with everything that she had left, but she could tell that she was running out of time and ideas. She was still unable to use her byakugan for more than a few seconds at a time. Her previously damaged arm was hanging uselessly at her side, the victim of a stab wound in her shoulder from Kane. Her chakra levels were low and she was down to her last kunai. She had been able to damage Kane slightly. He had the full use of only one of his legs due to take a small cut from one of her poison kunai earlier. It wouldn't be long before he lost all use of that leg. He was breathing deeply as his own reserves were being sorely tested, though he would collapse from exhaustion long after her.

'I only have one chance. I have to make the next attack the finishing one!' Hinata thought in exhaustion. She pulled her final kunai and prepared herself. Kane shifted as best he could into his kenjutsu stance and held his sword parallel with his body.

Suddenly both turned to look when they heard a loud roar. They both bared witness to the demise of the Kraken. Kane was stunned into silence at the loss of the beast that was to belong to his country. Hinata took advantage and raced towards Kane planning to end the fight as he was distracted.

"Byakugan!" She yelled as she activated her dojutsu. With lethal precision she ducked under his hurried slash and thrust her kunai towards his chest. Kane, acting swiftly, turned his chest at the last moment so that instead of having the kunai go through his chest, it went through his shoulder. He could feel the poison beginning to spread and knew he had to end her immediately.

Hinata felt despair run through her body. She had missed the killing blow. She was now too close to avoid the follow up slash that she knew was coming. In desperation she kicked out towards his chest, hoping to create enough space to hopefully avoid a lethal strike. Kane smiled as he leaned back just enough that while the foot would connect with his chest, it wouldn't have any force behind it.

'I want die here!' Hinata thought in desperation. She sent the last bit of her chakra to her foot. Her foot connected with Kane's chest, but as he planned it had no force behind it.

"Die!" He yelled as he slashed towards her head.

Suddenly Kane coughed up blood and dropped his sword. A confused look came onto his face as he gazed at his chest.

"H-how?" He asked as he felt his heart begin to shut down.

"My name is Hinata Yuhi, but it was formally Hinata Hyuga." Hinata said as Kane's eyes glazed and his body slumped over to sink into the depths of the ocean, just as the Kraken had done moment before.

'I did it.' Hinata thought in exhaustion and pride.

She had pulled out her trump card. She hadn't practiced the gentle fist style for months after her banishment, but Kurenai had encouraged her to keep practicing. Hinata was skeptical until after her fight with Neji che then knew that while she may never agree with the clan's actions, their style was still very useful and had begun to train in it after the invasion. Not even her teammates were aware of this fact. She wanted it to be a surprise in battle. She was still far from an expert and it was a stretch to even say that she was proficient with it. The style's rigid stances clashed with her serpent style taijutsu, which she favored.

'Still maybe I can combine them with some practice.' Hinata thought as she took a step forward and fell over in exhaustion. As she sank into the sea, she felt someone grab her hand and pull her to safety. Right before she passed out she heard Naruto's voice.

"You are truly amazing Hinata-chan."

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Team eight stood outside the gates of the small country. It had been two weeks since the conclusion of their battle and they had spent all of that time recuperating. Emi and Ami had been surprisingly tame during the two weeks they had thought long and hard about what Hinata had said and decided to share the responsibility of running the village. Both knew that they lacked a key element that was needed to run the village smoothly and also were aware that their sibling excelled in that very area. They were very grateful and had toned down their flirting on Naruto and Shino; though this may have been a result of Haku and Hinata refusing to leave their respective boyfriend's side during the entire trip. Haku was always a bit possessive of Shino, but Hinata absolutely refused to leave Naruto's side. After almost losing him, as well as her life, she was not going to be far from him. Ami and Emi seemed to respect the ninja's feelings and relented.

"We will always be in your debt." Emi said with a deep bow.

"Yeah without you guys my sister and I would be dead right now!" Ami replied in her usual exuberate tone.

"It was nothing we were simply following and completing our mission." Shino said with a nod. He would have bowed but his ribs were far from fully healed. Haku was supporting him by placing his arm over her shoulder.

"Yeah it's what we do." Naruto said with a smile on his face.

"I'm sure that you tow will become great leaders for your country." Hinata said from beside Naruto; she was holding his arm and didn't seem inclined to release him anytime soon.

"This is goodbye for now, take care." Haku said from beside Shino.

As one team eight turned around and began the trek back to Konoha. Emi and Ami watched them until they disappeared over the horizon. None of them noticed that they were being watched. The mysterious man was watching them all.

'Well, well Naruto. I am very pleased at the way things have turned out. Still, defeating one's inner darkness is only the first test. The next one will be much more difficult, and painful. I wonder how you will handle it.' He thought to himself as he disappeared.

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**Here's chapter 38! Sorry for the long wait, and don't expect it to happen again. The Kraken's dead, Naruto has a new ally in Tatsuya….kind of, and team eight has successfully completed their first mission together. What could possibly go wrong now?! That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**

**P.S. If you are a fan of Naru/hina and you hate Sasuke, then you need to check out "Naruto vs Sasuke The Aftermath" by KingKakashi. It is a great story and one of my personal favorites.**


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

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Naruto opened his eyes to the rising of the sun. With a yawn he climbed out of bed and prepared for the day. It had been exactly one month since their mission. Their team had been given the month off to recover and reflect on their first completed mission as a team. Naruto walked out of his apartment in deep thought. As he walked aimlessly around the village he was not surprised to see many vendors setting up decorations. The village has going to be throwing a festival in remembrance of their victory against the invasion months before as well as Tsunade's return. Everyone seemed very excited about it; everyone except Naruto.

'What am I going to do?' Naruto thought in annoyance. It wasn't that he didn't want to go. That was the farthest thing from the truth, though going wouldn't exactly be a walk in the park either. He remembered how the village used to celebrate the defeat of Kyuubi. When he was a small child he would attempt to go and was normally caught and beaten severely. The last time this happened, Sarutobi had actually canceled the festival from ever taking place again. Naruto had initially blocked this memory but ever since he merged with Makaze he found that more and more dark, depressing memories were returning to him.

However, the reason that Naruto was worried about the coming festival had nothing to do with his past but everything to do with what he hoped would become his future. He wanted with everything that he was to take Hinata to the festival as their first official date together. However, Naruto truly didn't know how to go about doing it. He wasn't too shy to ask her. Actually Hinata had taken that opportunity away from him when she told him that they would be going together in a tone that left no brokering for an argument.

'She really has been spending too much time with Nee-san.' Naruto thought with a sigh. He desperately wanted to treat Hinata like the princess that she was, but he was worried about how to go about it. He didn't even have a nice pair of cloths for such an occasion.

'I really wish I could talk to nee-san or nii-san, but they're already going together and are probably busy themselves.' Naruto thought as he continued to walk aimlessly. He had never been so nervous before. Normally he would shrug it off and play it by ear, but he knew that this was not just any regular outing with Hinata.

"Why the long face Naru-chan?"

Naruto stopped and looked behind him. He already knew that there was only one person in the village that would call him that.

Tsunade had been travelling around the village taking a break from the endless stacks of paper work and had seen Naruto walking around with a troubled look on his face. She was surprised by just how much she cared for the boy. She chalked it up to the fact that he was Kushina's son and reminded her of Kushina, Minato, Dan and Nawaki.

"Oh hey. I'm just kind of confused about something." Naruto answered back with a sheepish grin.

"Oh? Anything I could help with?" Tsunade asked calmly with an inquisitive look on her face.

"I'm sure you have better things to do then help me out. I mean you're the Hokage." Naruto said with a small smile as he turned to leave.

Tsunade sighed in exasperation. If there was one thing she learned about Naruto it was that he put others before him so often that he considered his own troubles not worth bothering others with them. It was both very selfless and selfish of him at the same time. She calmly walked over to him and grabbed him by the back of his trench coat.

"Hold it right there! Who are you to say whether or not I have better things to do? I'll have you know that I have plenty of time to handle my duties and who was it that told me that the Hokage has to look out for all of her subjects?" Tsunade asked as she turned his own words against him.

"I'm happy to help Naruto. You don't have to try and shoulder everything yourself." Tsunade said in a soft tone with a warm look in her eyes. This look stopped Naruto's reply that it wasn't a big deal. He simply nodded with a small true smile on his face.

Tsunade smiled as well as she listened to Naruto explain the issues he was currently having. As they talked Tsunade stirred him towards a few clothing stores.

"Don't worry Naru-chan. I'll be happy to help." Tsunade said as she ignored a few of the surprised looks that many villagers were giving her. They were surprised that the current Hokage would be so close to the Kyuubi-container.

"Alright now, let's get you some cloths that will make Hinata melt!" Tsunade said with a smile as she began moving through the store grabbing many different cloths. Naruto watched her with a strange feeling whenever she had him try own new cloths and gave him her opinion. Naruto had never had someone do such a thing for him. Anko had got him practical cloths for combat, but never seemed all that concerned with casuals. Tsunade would come back each time trying to make sure that everything was just right and that he looked his best. When he stood to look at himself in front of the viewing mirror she would stand behind him and smile at how he looked. Her hand was on his shoulder and both were smiling warmly at their reflections.

'Is this what it's like to have a mother?' Naruto thought as he found himself enjoying the time he was spending with Tsunade.

After an hour they had finally come to an agreement on his attire. Tsunade had agreed that a kimono was a bit too formal for this event and so decided to go with a deep blue button down shirt that brought out Naruto's eyes as well as a pair of black slacks that had swirls of dark blue on them.

"You look great Naru-chan! I wish I had a camera!" Tsunade said with a smile that rivaled Naruto's own. Naruto didn't reply he was still simply enjoying the feeling that hanging out with Tsunade and produced. Before he turned to leave he gave the blonde Hokage a big hug of appreciation.

"Thanks a ton." Naruto said as he felt her return his hug.

"No problem Naru-chan. Now go and get ready I know you'll have a great time and make me proud." Tsunade said in return as Naruto turned to leave. When he left Tsunade couldn't seem to stop smiling. It felt good to help Naruto. She often wondered what would have happened had Dan survived and they had been married. She never really thought of herself as mother material but the recent experience certainly spurred her maternal instincts.

'Oh well, fun's over; back to the paperwork.' Tsunade thought with a sigh as she prayed that Shizune had not found her secret stash of sake.

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Hinata sighed as she watched her nee-san and Anko argue. They both felt that they had the best idea on what Hinata should wear for her date.

"I'm telling you Kurenai that she needs to go with the drop dead sexy look. It'll blow my little brother's mind." Anko said with her usual smile.

"Absolutely not Anko! I won't let Hinata go out there like that." Kurenai stated firmly. Anko may have been her best friend but sometimes the snake mistress was very frustrating.

"Come on Kurenai!" Anko said in a whiny tone.

"Anko…" Kurenai responded with a seething look.

"Ano I believe that I should be the one to make the decision." HInata said as she finally spoke.

Anko and Kurenai turned to look at her with surprised expressions. Their faces soon reddened in embarrassment for not including her. Whereas before Hinata would have stayed silent, she had learned from both of them and was a confident strong kunoichi in her own right and would make her opinion heard.

"Sorry about that." Anko said with a sheepish look on her face.

"I apologize as well Hinata." Kurenai said softly.

"It's alright. I know you both just want everything to go well between me and Naruto-kun. But how about we all decide together?" Hinata asked with a soft smile.

"Agreed!" Kurenai and Anko said in unison as they all went into the wardrobe.

"So Anko-sensei. Are you going to the festival with Iruka-sensei?" HInata asked as she tried on different outfits.

"You bet! And the fun may not end with the festival either." Anko said as a perverted smile appeared on her face.

"Anko." Kurenai said in exasperation.

"Oh come off it Kurenai! Correct me if I'm wrong but I you have a special outfit for a certain someone yourself right?" Anko said with a smile that showed she already knew the answer.

"Oh? Who is it nee-san? It wouldn't be Kakashi-sensei would it?" Hinata said with a smile exactly like Anko's.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Kurenai said with a small blush.

"Sure you don't." Anko said with the same smile as they continued to look through the outfits.

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Naruto walked towards Hinata's house in his new cloths. He was still pretty nervous but he knew that he would have to deal with it.

'I wonder what Hinata's wearing.' Naruto thought as he walked leisurely down the street.

"Well don't you look sharp Naruto."

Naruto turned to see Kakashi standing on the side of the street. Curiously he was not reading his Icha Icha book, though he was still wearing his usual jonin attire.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said simply as Kakashi walked beside him.

"Taking Hinata out to the festival?" Kakashi asked.

"Yep." Naruto responded.

'You have no idea how much you look like your father right now Naruto.' Kakashi thought with a smile at Naruto's seemingly calm exterior he could tell that Naruto was actually very nervous about what was about to happen.

"Calm down Naruto. It'll be fine." Kakashi said with a comforting squeeze of Naruto's shoulder.

"I know but I am a little afraid of screwing up." Naruto said as attempted to calm himself.

"Understandable, but if you don't relax then you really will screw up." Kakashi responded calmly as they arrived at Hinata and Kurenai's house.

Without saying a word Naruto knocked on the door and waited. He was still fairly nervous and had sweat building on her forehead. He was shifting uncomfortably in anxiety. The door suddenly opened and Kurenai stood in her normal jonin attire.

"Hello Naruto. Hinata will be down soon." Kurenai said with a smile at the nervous twitch that developed above Naruto's eye. She found it very funny how Naruto, who would barely bat an eye at the prospect of fighting overwhelming odds, would be made so nervous by the thought of seeing his girlfriend for their first official date.

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes shot towards the staircase that led up the second story of the house. At the top of the staircase stood Hinata. Naruto's eyes widened and he was sure that he forgot how to breath for a few minutes even though it felt like his heart was racing a mile a minute.

Hinata was wearing a beautiful lavender dress. It was sleeveless and fell to her ankles. It dipped very slightly in the front and a bit more in the back, so as to not show too much skin. There were intricate floral designs throughout the fabric and the entire dress seemed to be tailored specifically for her. She wore her indigo headband as well as heeled shoes that made her the same height as Naruto.

Kakashi walked up beside Naruto and calmly closed the stunned genin's hanging mouth. Naruto seemed to snap out of his daze and realized that Hinata was now standing in front of him. She seemed slightly nervous as well and didn't want to meet his eyes.

"Beautiful." Naruto said as he used one hand to gently turn her head towards his. Hinata could see a multitude of emotions in Naruto's eyes. He wasn't just saying that, he truly meant it with all that he was. Hinata melted at the warm glow of his beautiful blue eyes and felt a warm heat spread through her body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a very light kiss on the lips. It was slow and methodical and felt to Naruto like a lighting jutsu had just been used on his body. For a few moments, nothing else existed for the two genin. There was no Kakashi, Kurenai, house or even village. There was only the one they currently held in their arms. With little more than a nod goodbye they turned and exited the house, their hands firmly clasped.

Kakashi and Kurenai smiled at the showing of affection. As one their heads turned towards each other. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before turning away, a blush appearing on both of their faces.

"Say Kurenai." Kakshi said after a moment.

"Yes Kakashi?" Kurenai answered with a small amount of anticipation.

"I was just wondering if you had any plans for the rest of the night." He answered and had Kurenai not known better she would have sworn that she saw Kakashi fidgeting in uncertainty.

"Not yet." Kurenai said with a smile on her beautiful face.

"Is that so? I don't suppose you would like to go with me to the festival?" Kakashi asked as he finally turned to look at her.

"Well this is short notice, but I'm sure that I could find something to wear." Kurenai said with a faux look of concentration on her face.

"Well I certainly can't go out wearing this. How about I come back in a few minutes?" Kakashi said with a noticeable tone of relief.

"That would be fine. I'll be waiting." Kurenai said calmly as Kakashi exited the house. She quickly ran up the stairs to take out the special outfit that she had bought for just such an occasion, unaware that Kakashi was racing to his home at breakneck speed to prepare.

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"Stop worrying son." Shibi said to the currently pacing Shino. Haku had come by earlier as they were going to go to the festival together. Akiko had immediately grabbed the poor girl and taken her shopping to try and find something for her to wear. Haku had never participated in such an event and was unsure of what to wear. Shino was planning on wearing his usual cloths and was confused as to why his mother demanded that he change into something else.

'Shino Aburame! You are not going out with that sweet girl wearing your normal mission cloths!' Akiko had stated sternly.

Shino sighed as he changed his cloths. He had gone to his father for advice on what to wear and they both settled on a formal kimono. It was a deep brown in color with numerous designs that upon close inspection were revealed to be made to look as if insects were making the designs.

"I am unsure of what I need to do." Shino said as he addressed his father's earlier comment.

"Do you care for Haku-san?" Shibi asked though the answer was clear to see.

"Yes." Shino said calmly, though he was anything but on the inside.

"Then let your feelings guide you." Shibi answered as he left his son's room.

Shino was stunned for a moment. Aburames were taught from birth to NEVER let emotions guide them. They had to be very careful with their emotions as their insects reacted to them. As a clan, they were always known for following logic above any and everything else. For his father, who was the clan head and a representative on the council, to tell him that was very shocking to Shino.

Shino was broken from his thoughts when he felt the arrival of his mother and Haku. He took a deep breath and composed his face into its normal apathetic look. He exited his room and headed towards the main room of the house. When he opened the door he found himself frozen in place. His insects were going into a frenzy at the level of emotion that flared when he laid his eyes on Haku. Akiko had seemingly decided that Haku should also wear a kimono.

Haku was wearing an ice blue kimono with a dark blue belt tied around the middle. There were pure white snowflakes all over the silk material and it fit her beautifully. Her hair was done up and held in place by to elegant combs that were also in the shapes of snowflakes. When Shino's mind finally began to work again he walked up to Haku and slowly took off his shades.

"Shino-kun?" Haku asked in confusion. Shino rarely, if ever took off his shades.

"Such beauty must be viewed without any obstructions." He answered softly as his deeps brown eyes stared into her lighter counterparts.

Haku blushed a beautiful shade of pink and gave him the small sincere smile that always made Shino's heart skip a beat. Akiko had long since left the two alone, though she was still listening to them through the door. Shibi walked up behind her and could only shake his head at his wife's actions.

"She's so good for our little Shino." Akiko said softly as she stopped listening in on the two genin. Shibi remained silent and simply took his wife's hand and lead her away from the room before she opened the door and began embarrassing their son. He was sure that once Shino returned later on that night that his son would want to die from embarrassment from the questions his wife would be asking.

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The festival was in full swing and various couples were out enjoying themselves. Asuma leisurely leaned against a booth as he simply enjoyed the atmosphere. He turned to see Ino walking with Choji. He smiled as he had noticed that over the past few months that she had seemingly given up on her fascination with Sasuke and seemed to finally notice just how much Choij liked her. It was obvious that both were happy and content as they laughed and never once seemed concerned with the strange looks a few of Ino's old classmates were sending their way. He began to sweat when one snobbish girl asked Ino was she was doing with a fatso like Choji. Choji had stiffened but surprisingly it was Ino that handled the girl. Ino had proceeded to tell the girl off with such anger that the girl backed away from the enraged kunoichi. Choji smiled after the girl left and Ino hugged him and told him not to worry about stupid people like her.

He turned in another direction and saw Iruka with Anko. He still found their relationship to be a bit strange, but who was he to judge. Anko found a steady man who didn't care for her just because of her looks. Iruka listened to her and respected her abilities as well as her intelligence. Iruka found it strange that he was so attracted to someone like Anko. He had assumed, like many others that she was very sadistic and only cared about delivering pain and having sex. He learned that this was the furthest from the truth. It was all a front on her part. Yes she did enjoy giving pain to those that wronged her but other than that she was actually fairly calm. Anko was someone who had been hurt badly and so she, like Naruto, created a mask to hide her pain from others who might use it against her. Iruka had broken through her walls and accepted her as she was, pain and all. Currently they were coming out of a bar and it seemed that both were still fairly sober.

"Hey Iruka-kun. How about we go back to your place and have some fun." Anko said suggestively in his ear.

"Oh? And what exactly did you have in mind Anko-chan?" He asked as he gave her backside a slight pinch. Anko loved teasing Iruka, he thought it only fair that he get some payback.

"I was thinking you, me, the bed and a lot of chains!" Anko said with a wide smile and a strange glint in her eyes.

'In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have done that.' Iruka thought as Anko grabbed him by the arm and ran back to his apartment.

Asuma smiled as he turned to see Kurenai walking with Kakashi. He was stunned by Kurenai's dress. It was a short, body hugging dress that truly brought out her beauty. It stopped just above her knees, showing off all of her smooth legs. It was sleeveless so her arms were just as bare. Dark red streaks wound their way throughout the dress bringing out her beautiful crimson eyes. It was cut low enough in the front to show off her assets, and was cut low in the back as well showing off a good bit of her back. She seemed to wear little make up as her natural beauty made it unnecessary. Asuma could tell that it was having an effect on the normally aloof copy ninja.

Kakashi was having a hard time keeping his eyes on anything but Kurenai. He had dressed up as well. He now wore dark slacks and a silver dress shirt. Over this shirt he had on a black jacket. Asuma could only smile at the way his two friends had progressed into something more. He still remembered when they couldn't even be in the same room as each other without going at each other's throats.

Asuma wondered when he would find his special woman just as his friend and student seemed to. He pulled out a cigarette and pulled out his trusty lighter. When he raised the flame to light his cigarette, he was stunned to find that it was missing.

'What the?' Asmua thought in confusion as he looked around him. He didn't see it lying around anywhere. Shaking his head in confusion he pulled out another cigarette and placed it into his mouth. He raised his lighter once again and once again he found the cigarette had disappeared!

"What's going on?" He said to himself.

"Stop doing that!"

Asuma looked up to see a strange woman in front of him. She had short dark hair and was wearing a black robe like dress.

"You're Tsunade-sama's assistant Shizune right?" Asuma asked as he finally attached a name to her face.

"That's right. Now would you please explain what you were about to do?!" Shizune asked with anger clearly present in her big black eyes.

"Huh? What do you mean? I was just about to smoke." Asuma said, confused by her behavior.

"Exactly! Do you have any idea what these things do to your lungs?! We need all of our elite ninja in top physical form right now! I won't let you become a liability on the battle field because you find out your lungs won't work anymore!" Shizune yelled as she found herself face to face with Asuma. She had been walking closer and closer to him during her small speech and was currently staring into his dumbfounded face.

"Calm down. You're way too uptight." Asuma said with a sigh of annoyance.

"Calm down! While you are on a one way ticket to death everytime you have a cigarette?!" Shzune said loudly as she poked him in the chest.

"Come on everyone needs something to help them calm down." Asuma said in disinterest as he pulled out another cigarette.

Before he had a chance to stop her, Shizune grabbed his favorite lighter.

"Hey give that back!" Asuma yelled out.

"Not going to happen. I'm keeping this for the rest of the night." Shizune said in a now calm tone as she turned and walked away.

Asuma was stunned silent for a moment at the insane chain of events that had recently transpired. He quickly shook his head as he ran off after Shizune. He was going to get his lighter back!

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Shikamaru observed the festival from a far like his sensei had been doing. He really didn't feel the urge to go to the festival. Ino and Choji were already having fun together and Shikamaru was not about to interrupt their fun. He smiled faintly at the look that had come to Choji's face when Ino accepted his shy invitation to go with him a few days earlier. Ino had giggled at his face and told him that she would see him then. Choji hadn't moved for ten whole minutes, not even when their food came.

'Choji deserves some happiness in his life.' Shikamaru thought with a sigh. He decided that he had seen all that he needed to see. The festival was really for couples and there were no girls around that Shikamaru could, or even would, ask to accompany him.

"Hey lazy!"

Shikamaru froze in shock as he turned to look behind him. Walking towards him was Temari of all people!

"Temari? What are you doing here?!" Shikamaru asked in a confused tone as he noticed her attire. She wore a simple but elegant blue kimono that had white clouds stitched into it. It reminded Shikamaru of the clouds they both had watched before the invasion. He was sure that her kimono was not a random selection. Another thing that really got his attention was that her hair was down and the golden blonde locks fell past her shoulders and truly brought out her teal eyes. He found it troublesome that his heart seemed to flutter at the sight of her.

"Trust Konoha's laziest ninja to find it too troublesome to wear something nice to a festival." Temari teased with a smile. Though he had tried to hide it, she had noticed his reaction to her appearance.

Shikamaru was about to mutter troublesome until he realized the situation really didn't call for it. He decided to continue with his earlier assessment, and tried to keep his mind off of the way her appearance was affecting him. Shikamaru was not one to allow his feelings to override his mind.

"You still haven't answered my question yet." Shikamaru said in his normal bored tone.

"I didn't did I? Well then since you want to know so badly, I have been directed by the Suna council to speak with you Hokage about a renewal of the treaty between our villages. Think of me as an ambassador of peace." Temari said with a smirk.

"You and peaceful don't usually associate together." Shikamaru stated.

"What did you say?!" Temari said in annoyance.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said softly as Temari face began to redden. He wasn't sure why but he felt the need to wheedle her a bit. Much as he didn't want to admit it, she was actually fun to have around. There were really no girls around his age that could challenge him mentally. He may have been smarter than Temari but she forced him to be at his best if he planned to come out victorious over her.

"Fine if you're going to be that way maybe I should just leave." Temari said in anger as she turned to leave.

"Wait." Shikamaru said with a sigh. He hated taking the initiative.

"Yes?" Temari asked in surprise. Truthfully she had expected him to allow her to leave.

"I apologize." Shikamaru said with a cringe. He couldn't believe those words had just come out of his mouth.

"Hmm I accept on one condition." Temari said with a feral smile.

"What?" Shikamaru asked unnerved by her smile.

"Tsunade-sama told me that the meeting could wait until tomorrow. And I didn't get dressed up just to go to that festival alone. You are going to accompany me." Temari said as she grabbed him by the arm and began leading him towards the festivities.

"Huh? But.." Shikamaru stopped talking when Temari fixed him with a stern look, daring him to question her. Shikamaru sighed in defeat and allowed himself to be dragged towards the festival.

'Now I know how dad feels.' Shikamaru thought, though he did enjoy the feeling of her arms wrapped own his own.

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Hinata and Naruto were deliriously happy. They walked everywhere together and never once did their hands leave the others except for rare occurrences. One of which was when Naruto had played a game and won her a stuffed fox as a price. Neither gave any thought to what others might be thinking of them. As a whole, the villagers were leaving the couple alone. Naruto had very slowly begun to win them over, even if he didn't really attempt to do this. Most found the couple cute and went about their way. The few that had a problem with it kept their opinions to themselves, lest they bring down the wrath of the Hokage upon them. It had spread quickly through the village about how close the two were to each other and no one wanted to cross the child that the Hokage acted motherly towards.

Hinata was the happiest she could ever remember. She was out with the boy that had captured her heart since the first time their eyes met. She was currently laughing as Naruto and Rock Lee were competing in a test of strength. They had met Sakura and Lee while simply enjoying the atmosphere of the festival.

Hinata was very happy to see that Sakura had gotten over Sasuke and noticed what a great guy Lee was, if a little strange. Sakura was currently wearing a beautiful pink kimono with green floral designs. Rock Lee wore a deep green shirt and black slacks that had flames running along the bottom of them. Sakura noticed how the color of his shirt seemed different from his normal green jumpsuit. Lee simply smiled at her and said that his shirt was the shade of green that he loved the most, the same shade as her eyes. Sakura blushed deeply at that comment and kissed Lee on the cheek, laughing at the way his eyes bulged.

"I see you finally found someone you think is boyfriend material Sakura." Hinata said as she saw the large smile on Sakura's face as she looked at Lee.

"It really wasn't that hard to figure out. Lee is kind, gentle, loving, faithful, and just a great guy. I know he would never leave me nor do anything to hurt me. Plus he did save my life quite a few times." Sakura said as her jade green eyes sparkled when Lee won the contest against Naruto.

"That was a contest worthy of respect Naruto-kun!" Lee said as he shook Naruto hand. Naruto simply smiled and congratulated Lee on his victory.

Naruto walked up to Hinata and pulled her into a hug. As one they turned and left the happy couple of Sakura and lee and continued on their way. They never stopped smiling until they came upon a couple that instantly dropped their smiles, and in Naruto's case, cased a snarl to escape his throat. His hand clenched onto Hinata's almost painfully. Standing before them was Tenten and Neji.

Hinata had to physically restrain Naruto by grabbing his arm. She was willing to wait before acting. Naruto simply wanted to pound him into the ground again.

"Naruto, Hinata." Tenten greeted a bit meekly.

"Tenten. Neji." Hinata greeted in reply.

"I see your eyes haven't recovered yet Hyuga." Naruto said darkly with a smile. Indeed, Neji still had bandages wound across his eyes.

Neji said nothing. He simply walked towards Hinata. How he knew where she was standing was not focused on as Naruto moved to act. He placed himself directly in front of Neji and was prepared to remove his head should he take any threatening moves towards either himself or Hinata.

"Wait Naruto!" Tenten cried out as she saw Naruto's expression.

"I have something to say to Hinata-sama." Neji said softly.

"Then say it from right there!" Naruto said with a growl.

"It is something I must say to her face to face." Neji replied in the same tone.

"Kind of pointless without being able to see." Naruto said smugly.

"Naruto-kun.."

"Hey!"

"Please."

"W-what?" Naruto asked in shock. There was no way that that word had come from Neji's mouth.

"Please allow me to speck with Hinata-sama. If you at any time feel that my actions are untrustworthy than I give you permission to exact any means of punishment." Neji said softly as he looked towards Naruto. Naruto suddenly had the feeling that Neji could in fact see him.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked his girlfriend.

"It's alright Naruto-kun." Hinata responded as she stepped forward.

Naruto reluctantly moved but not before warning Neji that if he breathed wrong than he would swiftly find out just how long a person's body can survive without its head attached to it. Neji walked up to Hinata and promptly fell to his knees. He then placed his head down onto the ground. It was the ultimate expression of submission and apology.

"Hinata-sama, please forgive me." Neji said in a soft tone.

"I know that I don't deserve such a thing but I must at least apologize for what I have done. You were completely correct Uzumaki-san when you said that I knew the pain of the branch family but that I had let the power corrupt me. When Hiashi-sama approached me he told me that I would be able to be the clan head. He further explained that fate was the reason my father died but fate had determined me worthy where my father had not. I accepted his words and once I tasted the power that came from being the clan head, I lost my sight of just how disgusting the division in our clan has become." Neji said, his voice wrought with pain and self loathing.

"Stand up Neji." Hinata said softly.

Neji rose and stared towards his cousin. Hinata activated her byakugan and stared at Neji long and hard. After a moment she deactivated her dojutsu and nodded her head.

"I forgive you Neji-san." Hinata said simply as she walked past him and grabbed Naruto's arm again.

"That's it?" Neji asked in astonishment.

"What more do you want? I have forgiven you and accepted you apology. What you did was heinous, but if you are willing to change then I will hold no grudge against you. However, should you ever lose your way again I will personally knock your head back on straight." Hinata said with a smile.

"You don't have to worry about that Hinata! If he dares go back to his superior ways I will make sure that he resembles a pin cushion. Isn't that right Neji-kun!" Tenten said in a far too happy tone.

"So you have said many times Tenten-chan." Neji said with a sigh of exasperation, though a smile did appear on his face.

"Let's go Hinata-chan." Naruto said as they began to walk away. He was stunned that Hinata had forgiven Neji so quickly. He was far from trusting of the Hyuga and still had a great urge to pound him into the ground until it took a medic the caliber of Tsunade to help him walk straight again.

"Everyone deserves a second chance Naruto-kun." Hinata said softly as she clutched his hand. He could tell that her calm façade a few moments ago hid a great deal of anger. Hinata truly wanted to beat Neji herself, but she wouldn't allow bad blood to remain between them. Maybe losing his eye-sight was enough to help him see clearly for the first time in his life.

Naruto could feel the mood darkening and refused to allow it to remain as is. He grabbed Hinata and jumped towards the Hokage Mountain. When they finally arrived Naruto and Hinata walked towards the very spot they had stood such a long time ago when Naruto saved her from her despair.

"I love this view." Hinata said as they both sat down. Hinata had seated herself between Naruto's legs and was leaning back onto his chest. Naruto responded by wrapping his arms around her and placing his head on her shoulder.

"It truly is beautiful." Naruto said as he gazed into her eyes. Naruto still found it startling how easily he could get lost into the beautiful lavender eyes of Hinata. He found such peace in her eyes. Naruto was not the only one thinking these thoughts.

'I could gaze into his eyes for the rest of my life and never tire of them.' Hinata thought as she lost herself into the deep blue of Naruto's eyes.

Eyes that had seen so much more than a child his age should have; eyes that had experienced hardships and trials that would crush the spirits of people twice his age. In his eyes she found the source of her strength, not knowing that in hers was where he found the source of his peace. They were truly opposites in temperament. Naruto was like the sun, a blazing inferno of power and energy. Hinata was very much like the moon, peaceful, beautiful, and calm. Their faces drew together as if by some supernatural force and when the first firework went off in the distant, Naruto and Hinata were already lost in the sensation of their kiss and shared feelings. Nothing could harm them as long as they were together. Nothing could split them apart. They were truly the center of each other's world and the loss of one would inevitably result in the loss of the other.

When they split apart they spent the longest time simply staring into each other's eyes. Naruto raised a hand very slowly, almost hesitantly, as if he couldn't believe that he was allowed to touch a face as beautiful as hers. Hinata raised her hand as well and lightly traced his whisker marks. Naruto's eyes closed as the sensation and he couldn't stop himself from pulling her back into a deep, loving kiss.

'I will never let her go. She's mine just as much as I'm hers.' Naruto thought as he deepened the kiss.

'I will never let him go. He will always have me by his side, always.' Hinata thought as she wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck.

For the two teenagers, for a few moments, everything was right in the world.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Shino walked Haku home from the festival. Their arms were locked and they walked in perfect silence. The evening couldn't have gone better in Shino's opinion. They had simply enjoyed each other's company for the entire festival. As they approached Haku's apartment both had experienced the intense feeling of sadness. They didn't want the night to end! They had talked, laughed, even danced, though that had taken a large amount of persuading by Haku. As they walked up the steps leading to her home, Shino turned Haku towards him. Before she could ask him what was wrong, she found herself enveloped by his arms and a deep kiss had been planted onto her lips.

Haku was shocked for only a moment before she wrapped her arms around Shino and responded with equal intensity. When Haku considered some special to her, she was almost fanatical when it came to her behavior around them. Shino held her heart completely. Only Zabuza and her parents had ever been able to affect her as deeply as he and yet he had done it so quickly. He spoke very little and yet every action he made seemed to speak a thousand words to her. She no longer questioned it. She knew with everything that she was that Shino was hers just as she was his.

Shino had never felt this way about another person his entire life. He loved his friends and family, of course, but this feeling he held for Haku went above and beyond that. He found himself enraptured by her face, her smile, her spirit! It all spoke to him on such a level that it frightened him. He was from the aburame clan and was not used to feeling such things. He could feel his insects buzzing throughout his body causing his body to vibrate faintly. Surprisingly Haku seemed to enjoy the sensation and attempted to get even closer to him. Shino was at a loss as to what to do. He wanted to open himself up completely to Haku and yet found himself truly terrified of what could happen should he allow someone else that much power over him. However, Shino knew that it was too late. It was impossible not to give himself to her fully. It had already happened and he knew that he would never take it back, even if he could.

As they broke the kiss Shino stared into her beautiful eyes. Haku smiled up at him as she pulled off his shades. She stared into his eyes and with a contented smile, rested her head onto his chest. For the moment, nothing else existed except for them and their feelings for one another.

Haku straightened herself and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. There was no need to say goodbye. The gleam that was present in their eyes was enough. Before Haku could fully leave his embrace, Shino reached into his outfit and pulled out a special present for her. Haku opened the present and laid her eyes onto the most beautiful gift she had ever seen or received. It was a gold butterfly that was encrusted with shining gems. The gems were rainbow colored and when the light struck the piece of jewelry just right, it refracted off of the gems and the colors would blend and dance right before her eyes.

Haku was awe struck by the gift and couldn't express in words how touched she was by the gift. She shakily took it from his hands and clutched it to her chest. Tears streamed down her face and she was truly at a loss for words. Shino, understanding this, gently cupped her cheek with his hand and ran his thumb over her lips. His eyes showed the depth of his emotion, just as hers did the same. Without another word, Shino pulled her into his arms once again. They lost track of how much time they remained joined together.

"Goodnight, Haku-chan." Shino all but whispered as he released her and began to walk away.

"Goodnight, Shino-kun." She replied just as softly.

She walked into her home and nearly squealed in joy once the door closed. She began to sway to unheard music in utter delight. She stopped when she heard a knock at her door. She went to open it and was face to face with an anbu.

"Haku Momochi?" the anbu asked.

"Yes what can I do for you?" Haku asked in confusion.

"Please come with me. The Hokage would like to speak with you." The anbu replied.

"Very well, let me change first." Haku said as she turned her back to prepare. Suddenly she felt something stab into her arm and looked down to see a syringe sticking out of the appendage. Before she could even understand what was happening, she was unconscious.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Thanks so much for a great time Choji-kun!" Ino said with a smile as she kissed him on the cheek. Choji blushed a bright red and hugged Ino to his body. He couldn't believe that this was really happening. He had had a crush on Ino since the first time their father's had introduced them to one another when they were just children. He had always found her beautiful and felt truly blessed to have her in his arms.

Many only saw the loud mouth, gossiping girl when they saw Ino, but Choji saw her true self. She was a great person and truly cared for those around her. It was for this reason that he never lost interest in her when she was chasing after Sasuke. He always held hope that she would notice him one day and return his affections.

"It was my pleasure Ino." Choji said as she turned to walk into her house. Choji's smile never left his face as he walked home as well. Ino kept watching until Choji disappeared from view and a wide smile appeared on her face. She had had a great time with Choji! He was so caring and seemed to know just how she felt all the time. She had thought a man like that was impossible to find, and was very surprised that such a man was under her nose all this time. She felt slightly ashamed of herself that she had never seen Choji for the kind hearted person she truly wanted. She may have talked big and made herself seem highly independent, but truthfully she still sought companionship from someone who truly understood her; someone who accepted her for who she truly was.

'I can't wait until we go out again! Watch out Choji because you're mine now!' Ino thought as she turned to enter her house. She had been out fairly late and she wasn't surprised that the lights were out.

"Ino Yamanaka."

Ino turned and saw an Anbu staring at her.

"Yeah that's me." Ino said after a moment.

"The Hokage would like to see you. Please follow me." The Anbu said.

"It's kind of late isn't it?" Ino asked.

"Are you refusing a direct summon from the Hokage?" The Anbu asked.

"No! I'll go." Ino said as she walked towards the Anbu. Before she could react, the large man had grabbed her and placed a hand over her mouth. She wasn't even able to scream before she felt a sharp prick in her arm and lost consciousness.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Shikamaru walked Temari back to her hotel that she was staying in. Surprisingly, he had had a great time at the festival. Oh he had been his normal lazy self and Temari had been troublesome as always, but he couldn't help but admit that it had been fun. He couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed himself so much. He could tell the Temari was enjoying herself as well as he bright smile had not left her face yet.

As they stopped in front of her hotel, Shikamaru was astonished to find that he was upset that the night was over. He had never before thought of a woman the way he was currently thinking of Temari.

'She's troublesome, but for once in my life I find that that isn't such a bad thing.' Shikamaru thought as he gazed into her teal eyes.

Temari watched the shadow user with the same scrutiny that he had been giving her. When she had been told that she would returning to konoha as an ambassador, she had found that she was very to be returning to the place that held the one boy that she had actually found herself thinking about. As the daughter of the former kazekage, she had boys throw themselves at her all the time, trying to do anything to gain her favor. However, she never gave them a second thought. Temari was a fighter and respected strength and above all intelligence. Shikamaru was lazy, laid back, and would be dismissed by most as a mediocre shinobi at best. However, she could tell that they would be wrong on that last assessment. Shikamaru was the first and only person her age that had ever been able to outmaneuver her in every contest they participated in. Whether it was a simple verbal spar, or an actual fight, she found that his ability to plan complex strategies on the fly was second to none. This captured her attention and she had taken a closer look at the ninja.

She wasn't exactly sure when she had begun to develop feelings for him and was unsure of the true depth of them. They came from two different villages that had just been in a war with each other a few months past, and yet she could never make herself view him as an opponent. She knew that Shikamaru had been able to touch her in a way that scared her at the same time it exhilarated her. She may have been unsure of his own feelings except she found that he was not as good at hiding his feelings behind an uncaring façade as he believed. She had caught him staring at her many times during the night with a gleam in his eye. He had hid it quickly, but she still saw it and was determined to break through his shell.

"Well this is it Shikamaru. Thanks for the great night." She said in a heated tone as she ran her hands up his arms to wrap around his neck. Shikamaru began to sweat and for the first time in his life, he couldn't think of a comeback.

"Nothing to say? Well then it looks like I have finally beaten…" Temari began before Shikamaru cut her off.

Shikamaru rarely did things that he didn't know he was going to do. However, he didn't know that he was going to kiss Temari until their lips were already molded together. Her lips were warm and supple and he was surprised and annoyed when she pulled back.

"Oh!" She said with wide eyes.

"Oh?" He replied in confusion.

"That was certainly a surprise. Who knew you had it in you, lazy." She said with the same heated smile as she kissed him.

'She's troublesome, but worth it.' Shikamaru thought as he returned her affections. He was sure that they would have to talk about this tomorrow in greater detail but he decided to allow his heart out overrule his mind for a moment. When they broke apart, Shikamaru had a smile on his face and Temari's eyes were all but glowing.

"Till next time Shikamaru." She said as she walked to go to her room.

"Till then, Temari." Shikamaru replied as he turned to leave, the smile never leaving his face.

Temari was not one for outward girlish responses but she felt the massive urge to leap with a squeal of joy. She blamed that impulse on Shikamaru and decided to make him pay for it next time they met.

'You better be prepared Shikamaru because I plan to be the one in control next time.' She thought as she entered her room. As she entered she instantly went on alert. She could tell something was wrong. She leapt back and avoided a dart that had landed where she had been standing seconds before. Before she could locate her opponent she heard a strange sound.

'What is that?' Temari thought before her vision began to warp and spiral. Before she could release herself, she succumbed to the genjutsu and passed out.

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Sakura walked home with her arm firmly secured around Lee's. When Lee had proposed that they go together, in his usual jubilant tone, she had only giggled at his actions and told him that she would love to go with him. She was very glad that she had gotten to know Lee and not blow him off as she could have done when they first met. Lee was one of the kindest boys she knew and was loyal to a fault. Being around him made her feel protected. It also inspired her to overcome anything that came her way and become a splendid ninja just like Lee.

"I had a great time Lee-kun." Sakura said as they arrived at her home.

"Yosh I did as well Sakura-chan." Lee said softly as he pulled her into his chest.

Contrary to popular belief, Lee could talk softly. This normally only happened when he was feeling a particular strong emotion. It happened when he was sad, anger, and truly happy. He held Sakura and inhaled the lovely scent of her shampoo.

'She truly is my flower princess.' Lee thought as he tightened his arms around her.

Sakura looked when Lee held her in his arms. She felt such power held in those limbs. They could easily break her like a twig but the massive power was restrained. She felt the warmth from his body and didn't plan on leaving the comfort of his arms anytime soon.

She looked up to him and kissed him on the lips. This was not like the other small pecks on the cheek she gave him, this was a kiss full of affection and care and Lee reciprocated in kind.

"My flower princess." Lee whispered as he gave her a small smile. She love that smile as it was only for her.

"My beautiful green beast." Sakura replied just as softly as she nuzzled his chest. They stayed that way for a long time before Lee began to move away.

"I will see you tomorrow Sakura-chan." Lee said with a glaring smile.

"Until then Lee." Sakura replied as she watched him run off. She laughed softly when she heard the loud YOSH in the distance.

"Sakura haruno."

Sakura looked up and saw as an Anbu appeared in front of her.

"Yes?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Please come with me." He said softly as he walked towards her.

"What is this about?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"The Hokage would like to speak with you." He replied in a calm tone.

"Oh, alright then. Just let me tell my parents first." Sakura said as she turned to enter her house.

She never made it as she felt a blow strike her in the back of the neck and darkness shrouded her vision.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I'm glad that you were able to make peace with Hinata today." Tenten said as she and Tenten walked back to her home.

"As am I. I was truly a fool to act as I did before. I can't believe that she forgave me so easily. I don't feel deserving of it." Neji replied.

"Everyone had messed up before in their life Neji-kun." Tenten said as she wrapped her arms around one of his.

Neji didn't show any outward signs of affection just yet. He still was unsure of the path that he was going to take. Staying with Tenten and her father and been tough at the beginning but he gradually learned accept the way they did things and was able to adapt. Tenten's father had been very direct with him when he was first brought to the house. He told him that if he was going to stay then he was going to work. Even with his eyes damaged he had to work hard at what he was able to do.

He had loathed it at first. He had felt that it was underneath someone like him. However, he quickly learned that complaining got him nowhere with either of them. In fact, they increased his work load. He soon learned to keep his mouth shut and simply do what he was told. It soon got better as he discovered that it really wasn't so bad. He had a place to stay, food to eat, and something to do to keep his mind off of what had happened. Tenten slowly warmed up to him again once his attitude changed. He became the old Neji, except without the stringent belief in fate. Naruto had physically beaten that notion out of his head. He was quiet and reserved but that was just the way he always was.

He was not above admitting to himself that he was a bit frightened by what he felt for Tenten. He had always known that she liked him, but was never one to show how he felt in return. Before it had been because he felt that he was cursed with the seal and he didn't believe that he was destined to have happiness. Now that he was free of the seal and the rules of the clan he found himself with the freedom to do something he wanted to do but he also felt fear at that freedom. Tenten and her father had been better to him than he truthfully deserved. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he messed up and broke her heart. He was afraid to risk it.

"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow Neji-kun." Tenten said with a sigh of resignation as she went to her room.

"Until tomorrow then Tenten-chan." He responded in his normal tone, though he hated himself a little when he saw her eyes dull a bit at his words. He had always been so confident, why then was he afraid to admit that he actually felt something for Tenten. He sighed at his own inability to act and went to his room. He could tell that Tenten wanted space.

Tenten watched him leave with anger and sorrow. She knew that he felt something for her but he refused to act on it. It was very frustrating. She had always cared for him. She wasn't sure why though she felt that it had something to do with his past and the fact that he had seemed so alone when they first met. She was very hurt at the way he changed during the exams and thought that her feelings for him were gone. However, when he saw him pathetic and helpless she couldn't turn her back on him or harden her heart. Her feelings for him had returned when he changed back into the boy she cared for before and she had hoped that he would open up more to her. However, he seemed dead set on not opening his heart.

She went out back to practice her throwing skills. It always helped calm her down when she was upset.

"Tenten Hisagia."

"Yes?" Tenten asked as she looked and saw an Anbu appear from behind a tree that held a target.

"I need you to come with me." He said.

"Why?" She asked in confusion.

"The Hokage needs to speak with you, it is urgent." He responded.

"Ok then." She said as she walked towards him. She followed as he turned to leave out of their front door. After they had gone a few feet he swiftly turned and attempted to stab her with a syringe. She was able to jump back, but was still injected with a small amount. She threw all her remaining projectiles his way as she raced back towards her house. However, the poison moved faster than she did and she soon fell to the ground, unconscious.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kurenai and Kakashi walked back to her house with an elated feeling between them. They were surprised that the evening had gone as well as it did. It was a time of healing for both as well at the first step to overcoming to horrors of their past.

Kakashi had not been on a date since the fourth's death. With the loss of Rin and Obito as well as that of his sensei, Kakashi refused to believe that he would ever find happiness. Why was he the only one of his original team let alive? Why did they die and he live? Kakashi had joined the Anbu black ops for one reason, to die. He knew that the mission he would receive would be ones that had low expectations of survival, but he simply didn't care. He felt that he had nothing else to live for in the village and that he would one day die and finally join his comrades in the afterlife. He never thought he would be able to feel such emotion for another person again as he had made it a habit to keep people at bay.

Kurenai's life had not been a walk in the park either. After watching her parents die at such a young age, she was unsure of anything in the world. Her young mind and been thrust into the harsh truth of reality before she could truly comprehend what had happened to her innocent, perfect world. She had joined the academy to become strong and never feel weak again. However at the time, female ninja were not received very well. It was between the second and third great ninja war and few believed that women that did not hail from a clan could be a huge help to the village. She was often put down by others because of such sentiments and wanted nothing more than to prove them wrong. She had never really thought about finding love. She was so focused on her goal of proving herself that she really didn't give it much thought. Kakashi was not someone she would have ever even remotely considered as date worthy. He would walk around reading porn, he was always late, he had broken her team up for a while, and always talked through that annoying mask! However, something had changed over the few months they had truly spent together. They found a kindred spirit in the other person and were surprised by just how well they worked together.

Kakashi looked down at their joined hands and couldn't help but wonder how this beautiful woman had been able to worm her way into his heart. She was very special to him and he once again found himself caring for another person and it brought him an equal amount of joy and fear. What would he do if something were to happen to Kurenai? Would his spirit break completely? He didn't know and that uncertainty made him want to stop whatever was building between them before it could fully take effect. However, once they stopped at her door she turned to him fully. He gazed into her crimson eyes and knew that it was far too late. Somewhere down the road, they had bonded with one another and after being alone for such a long time, neither wanted this feeling to end.

"I had a great time tonight Kakashi. Who knew the famous copy ninja could dance so well?" Kurenai teased with a bright smile.

"Just don't go spreading it around. If Gai ever found out then he would demand a dance contest." Kakashi said with a shiver. Gai loved challenging Kakashi to any outrageous contest he could think of.

"Your secret is safe with me Kakashi." Kurenai said with a laugh.

Feeling a bit annoyed at her amusement at his expense, Kakashi decided to retaliate. He pulled Kurenai to him and trapped her in his arms. He had hoped to attain a girlish sound from her that he could use against her. What he had not planned was for his plan to backfire. Pulling Kurenai against him allowed him to feel every curve of her beautiful body. Her dress showed a good amount of skin and Kakashi had been having a hard time concentrating on anything other than her body for the whole night. His arms were wrapped around her body and his hand rested on the exposed skin of her back. Kurenai's head rested against his chest and she could feel his erratic heart beat.

She looked up at him and they simply stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. Kurenai very slowly brought her hands up towards his mask. No one had ever seen Kakashi without his mask as he went to great strides to keep his face covered. Her hands moved very slowly, giving him ample time to stop her should he desire to. However, he never brought eye contact with her and made no news to stop her. She slowly pulled down his mask and was a bit annoyed to find a second. She felt him chuckle lightly at her expression and couldn't help but feel a shiver go through her body at the rumbling sensation in his chest. She pulled down the second mask and finally saw the one thing that almost every ninja who knew him wanted to see. She pulled his head band up and exposed his entire face. To her he was simply gorgeous. She ran her fingers over the scar over his right eye. She then dipped lower to run across his lips. Without another word their lips joined and they felt the fire run through their bodies.

Kakashi's hands were far from ideal. His hands rubbed along the smooth expanse of her exposed back. It felt incredibly smooth. He dared allowed his hands to slowly move down her sides, feeling her taut, athletic body. She gave a slight moan when he barely cupped her supple, firm backside. He had actually expected her to break the kiss and punch him, not give a small moan and press herself further into his embrace. Their lips opened on their own accord as they deepened the kiss. Kurenai felt the heat pool into her chest and lower body at the same time that Kakashi was discovering certain parts of his own body reacting to the sensations. They broke apart in a daze. Kakashi could see the passion in Kurenai's eyes and was well aware that the same passion was visible in his own.

"Kakashi, would you like to come inside?" Kurenai asked in a heated, slightly seductive tone that nearly drove Kakashi insane.

He was fully prepared to accept until they were interrupted.

"Kakashi-sensei! Kurenai-sensei." Naruto called out as he and Hinata began walking towards them.

Kakashi's eye twitched in annoyance as he pulled his masks up and Kurenai took a deep breath to steady her raging hormones as well as her irritation.

"So did you two have a good time?" Kurenai asked, somehow able to put a smile on her face. Both teens blushed brightly but did not move away from one another.

"Well it's getting late Hinata, let's get some rest for tomorrow." Kurenai said as she gave Kakashi a brief glance.

"I guess I'll see you later Kurenai." Kakashi said as he gave Naruto and Hinata a small nod before he teleported away. He needed a shower, a very cold shower.

'Yes you will Kakashi. Yes you will.' Kurenai thought with a smile as she walked into the house, giving Naruto and Hinata to bid each other a good night.

"I have the feeling that we interrupted something important." Hinata said with a small mischievous smile.

"Well karma does suck sometimes." Naruto said with a grin of his own.

They turned to each and were loath to end the perfect night. Naruto couldn't believe that he was worried about the evening. He couldn't have planned things to go better. It was the perfect date between the two ninja and Naruto couldn't wait for it to happen again. He pulled Hinata into his arms. He was sure that he would never tire of the feeling of completeness that always came when they were together. It felt right and Naruto would fight till the death to keep this feeling.

Hinata closed her eyes and simply allowed her mind to go blank. Nothing could break them apart as far as she was concerned. They would always be there for each other and nothing would ever change that. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a small, but emotion filled kiss. Naruto reciprocated the action and they basked in the feeling of rightness that was present.

"Good night Tenshi-chan." Naruto said, his eyes shining with emotion and care.

"Good night Doragon-kun." Hinata replied with tears in her eyes.

Naruto smiled at her nickname for him and with one final peck on the lips, turned to leave. Nothing would be able to remove the smile on his face that night.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Hinata felt as if she were walking on clouds as she walked up the steps of her house. She would never have believed in her wildest dreams that something like this would have ever happened to her. It made her very happy that she had been banished from the Hyuga clan. Had she remained would she have ever been allowed to be with Naruto? Would she have ever been permitted to act upon these intense feelings? She didn't know and felt that it was a moot point as she had everything she could possible want. She wouldn't dwell on what ifs.

She opened the door and saw Kurenai lying on the floor, unconscious. A figure wearing an Anbu uniform stood over her body and was in the process of picking her prone form up onto his shoulder.

"Kurenai-neesan!" Hinata shouted as she raced to combat the intruder. She was stopped when a second figure appeared directly in front of her. He removed his mask and look into her eyes. She was unable to activate her Byakugan quickly enough to see through the powerful genjutsu. Before Hinata lost consciousness she had one thought and it was based around the eyes of the figure that had caste the genjutsu onto her.

'Sharingan.'

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**Chapter 39 done! This has to be the longest chapter I have ever written. I hope you enjoyed the massive amount of fluff, but now it's over and next chapter will be filled with betrayal, action, pain, and death! Where are the girls now? What does Sasuke have planned? Who will survive the coming battles because battles?**

**You can quote me on this; someone will not be coming back alive. As for who it is well….THAT IS A SECRET!!! **

**Till next time Kyuub123 out!**


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

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Naruto was violently awoken at the sound of his door being almost blown off its hinges. Being a ninja, Naruto was instantly alert and jumped to his feet. He was confused to find that his supposed assailant was none other than Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei? Why did you break my door down?!" Naruto asked as he went from confusion to anger in a second.

"Naruto, get your mission gear on now! We have to meet the Hokage!" Kakashi yelled out in a tone that Naruto had never heard the aloof, laid back jonin use.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked. He could tell from Kakashi's body language that the normally calm copy ninja was incredibly anxious about something and equally as fearful.

"No time! Get dressed now, Hinata is missing!" Kakashi said.

Naruto got dressed before Kakashi had even finished the statement. Both ran towards the Hokage Tower at break neck speeds; all the while Naruto felt icy fear grip his heart.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"What happened to Hinata-chan?!" Naruto yelled at Tsunade as he and Kakashi arrived.

"Calm down Naru-chan." Tsunade said softly.

"Calm down?! Hinata-chan has gone missing and you tell me to calm down?! Have you lost your mind?!" Naruto yelled out. His emotions were running rampant. He felt intense, crippling fear as well as a rage so powerful that Kyuubi had taken notice of it.

"Naruto Uzumaki you will calm down right now! You're no good to Hinata in your current state!" Tsunade ordered with authority.

Naruto was ready to retort until he realized that she was right. He took a deep breath and attempted to calm his raging heart.

"Why are we waiting?" Naruto asked in a calmer tone.

"Because she wasn't the only one to go missing." Tsunade said with an enraged expression.

Naruto was stopped from responding when the door once again blew open. Standing at the door was Choji, Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, and the one who blew the door open, Rock Lee.

"Why are all you here?" Naruto asked, though he had already guessed the answer.

"They are here because Sakura, Tenten, Haku, Temari, Ino, Hinata, and Kurenai have all gone missing." Tsunade said in a soft tone that did nothing to soften the dark look on her face.

"Kurenai-sensei too?!" Naruto asked in shock more so than anger. How could they all have gone missing in one night?!

"Yes they all disappeared last night." Tsunade said.

"Do we know who did it Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru asked in his usual tone.

While Shikamaru's tone may have been the same, it was obvious that he was taking this extremely seriously. His eyes were what gave him away. His eyes normally held a bored, uncaring look to them. Now, however, there was a determined gleam in them. The genius was clearly giving all his attention to what was being said.

Tsunade looked at all of the present ninja. Shikamaru looked just like his father did when he was given a mission he actually cared about.

Choji was not eating anything. The look of anger on his face as well as the way his fists were clenched showed his fury and frustration.

Neji, while still trying to keeping the calm Hyuga façade, was trembling in rage.

Rock Lee had a look in his eyes that Tsunade could only classify as dangerous. Lee wanted to know who was responsible and more than likely, break every bone in their body.

Shino looked almost the same, almost. There was a very discernable buzzing sound coming from the Aburame and his face seemed to be set in a permanent frown of anger.

Kakashi was standing rigid. His normal laid back expression and body language were gone. Standing before her was not the laid back, easy going jonin instructor. Standing before her was the ex-anbu captain, the man that struck fear into the hearts of all opponents when his head band was raised and his sharingan was revealed.

Naruto was openly fidgeting. He wanted nothing more than to run off and find out who had the audacity to take Hinata-chan. He was unsure yet of just how he was planning on dealing with them. He couldn't decide on evisceration or simply cutting out their heart, slowly.

"We know who was behind their disappearance." Tsunade said as she pulled out a scroll and tossed it to Naruto.

"It's directed to you Naru-chan." Tsunade said as she closed her eyes. She knew what was about to happen and gave an internal sigh.

Naruto opened the letter and crushed it in his hands after reading it. The message was plain and clear.

'Come and get them.'

On the bottom of the scroll was the Uchiha clan symbol. And Naruto knew that there was only one Uchiha still in the village.

"Sasuke Uchiha is missing as well." Tsunade said as she locked eyes with Naruto. Telling him in no uncertain terms what the connection was.

Naruto slowly turned around and began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm going to correct a mistake." Naruto said softly with his head hung low.

"And what mistake is that?" Tsunade asked, though she already had a good idea.

"Six years ago Itachi Uchiha slaughtered his entire family with the exception of his little brother. I'm going to go and correct his oversight." Naruto said in a tone so cold that it chilled many of his friends to the bone, though they all had similar sentiments.

"Good. I won't waste time going over what's at stake as you already know what it is." Tsunade said as she addressed all of the genin. Naruto waited and listened, though he was fully prepared to leave should Tsunade take up more of his time.

"I want my kunoichi back! Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuga, Shino Aburame, Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Rock Lee, Kakashi Hatake; you are to go out and bring them back by any means! Find them and eliminate any enemies that get in your way!" Tsunade said as her own rage over the ninja's kidnapping surfaced.

"And Sasuke?" Naruto asked softly.

It was a valid question. No matter what Sasuke did, they all knew that the council still favored the Uchiha because he held the last of his bloodline. There was a good chance that the council would order for him to be brought back alive.

"Bring him back alive if possible; dead…just as good." Tsunade said with a dark smile on her face. She knew the Uchiha would get no sympathy from anyone in this room. Kakashi was his sensei and even he gave a small nod of appreciation her statement.

The smile of Naruto's face was one that rivaled Kyuubi's in its obvious showing of bloodlust and promises of death.

"Let's go." Naruto said as they all turned to leave. They had their objectives and knew the stakes. There was nothing else to talk about.

Tsunade sat down and tried to make sense of how thus could have happened.

'Sasuke alone would never be able to take them all at once. He had help, but from whom?' Tsunade thought.

As she watched them go, she felt a shift in something inside of her. She had only gotten this feeling when she was on a good luck streak, which meant that something horrible was about to happen.

'Please, Kami bring them back safely.' Tsunade thought as he gaze focused on Naruto.

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"**Summoning Jutsu!**" Kakashi shouted as he slammed his hand onto the ground. A large cloud of smoke appeared as Kakashi's dog summons arrived.

"Kakashi, what's up?" Pakkun asked.

"Pakkun there have been kidnappings last night. We need you to see if you can find out which direction they went in." Kakashi ordered in a no nonsense tone. Pakkun's eyes widened at Kakashi's tone. It was a tone he hadn't heard since Kakashi had been in the Anbu.

"Understood." He said as he and his other canine companions sniffed around. Five minutes later, they alerted Kakashi and the others.

"Did you find their scents?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, but something's strange. We found them too quickly. It's almost as if they were blatant in their attempts to leave a trail. This smells like a trap to me Kakashi." Pakkun stated warily.

"Well then that just means they want to meet the Shinigami all the sooner." Naruto said darkly.

"Everyone follow one of my canines. You know what to do when you find the girls." Kakashi shouted out as he followed Pakkun.

All the genin followed the dog that had the scent of their girlfriend.

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Hinata groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. She immediately remembered what had happened and tried to rise. However, she found that her hand and feet had been bound and she had a piece of cloth around her mouth, keeping her from speaking. She looked around and was shocked to find that she was in a cell alongside Haku, Sakura, Ino, Temari, Tenten, and Kurenai! All of the rest of them were still unconscious.

'What's going on? How did they capture all of us?' She thought as she attempted to gain some sort of slack in her binds.

"I see you're awake."

Hinata's head looked up into the eyes of the one who had captured her. She sent a glare his way, but could do little more.

Sasuke Uchiha observed Hinata with no discernable emotion. She was shocked to see that even his eyes seemed to be utterly devoid of emotion. Hinata was used to Sasuke having a look of anger, pride, superiority, or hate about him. She was slightly unnerved by the utter lack of emotion. However, she truly didn't care what had happened to the Uchiha to make this happen. She turned and tried to inspect their cell, looking for weaknesses in the structure.

"Don't bother, you're not going anywhere." Sasuke replied emotionlessly. He pulled out a kunai and before Hinata could even fully register that he possessed a weapon, she found that the cloth that was covering her mouth had been neatly sliced. She blinked in confusion. She hadn't even seen his arm move.

"Why are you doing this Uchiha?" Hinata spat in anger.

"Ensuring my end of the bargain." He said simply, still without showing a hint of emotion.

"You're a traitor to our village!" Hinata yelled in anger.

"Our village? You're mistaken. I never had any allegiance to Konoha. As long as I could grow stronger, then I would remain a leaf ninja, however they would rather keep me from the power I deserve in favor of protecting a demon." Sasuke said as his eyes darkened.

Hinata felt a shill through her body and knew that Sasuke was referring to Naruto.

'Who could have told him?' Hinata thought as she continued to struggle. Her efforts doubled when she saw an Anbu walk up to Sasuke, however, this Anbu's mask was much more demonic and evil looking than that of ordinary Anbu. The Anbu whispered something into Sasuke's ear and he nodded his head.

"It looks like our time to talk has ended." Sasuke said as six figures appeared. They opened the door and calmly walked over to pick up the limp forms of her friends. Hinata attempted to use all of her energy in a desperate act to do something. She had never felt so helpless and when Sasuke walked up to her to use a syringe, she uttered in pure hatred.

"Naruto-kun is going to find you." She hissed as she felt her grip on consciousness leave her. Right before she blacked out she saw Sasuke's face break out into the first bit of emotion she had witnessed during the entire exchange. A sick, cold smile appeared on his face and his eyes reflected the manic glee that he was feeling.

"I'm counting on it." He said as Hinata fell unconscious.

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Choji ran full speed behind the ninja canine that was his guide. The normally shy, kind hearted genin was continually having to keep his anger in check. Most enemies who were lucky enough to survive a fight with an enraged Akimichi would tell you that when enraged, Akimichis truly personified an unstoppable force.

'When I find out who took you Ino-chan, they'll regret it for the rest of their very short lives!' Choji thought. He had been moving at full speed through the passing trees and he knew that the village was far behind him. He wouldn't be getting any back up if he got into trouble. Thankfully he had remembered to bring the special pills that his family had created, as well as another special surprise should the pills not be enough.

The dog gave a loud bark that brought Choji back to his senses. He stopped immediately as the dog began to sniff around. Choji slowly looked around, trying to see if he could spot anything unusual.

"It took you long enough to get here."

Choji turned and saw an anbu leaning against a tree. The Anbu was quite large and looked powerfully built. This mattered little to Choji.

"Where is she?!" Choji snarled.

"She? Oh the girl. She's right here." He said as he pulled Ino's limp form from behind him.

"Release her!" Choji shouted as he had to physically restrain himself from attacking.

"Calm down, it's not like I'm going to kill her." He responded as he through her towards him. Choji went to catch her and suddenly felt a punch hit him directly in the chest. He flew back into a tree. He instantly righted himself and snarled at the anbu. He was once again holding Ino. He had been waiting for Choji to let his guard down.

"That won't happen again." Choji said.

"We'll see." The Anbu responded as he set Ino aside. He stepped back as if daring Choji to try and get her.

Choji readied himself. He could tell that while this Anbu wasn't very fast he was strong.

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Shikamaru found himself, for the first time in life, actually eager for an upcoming fight. Shikamaru wasn't one who normally let his feelings get in the way. However, while he may have found Temari to be a troublesome woman, she was his troublesome woman!

'Heh. Listen to me. I find what has to be the most troublesome female in the world and I've fallen for her.' Shikamaru thought.

He wasn't sure when his feelings for her had become so strong but he knew that it really didn't matter, he was going to find her and whoever took her would quickly find out just how deadly a strategic genius could be. As it was, Shikamaru had already thought up the first fifty moves that he could make against an opponent, no matter what their strength. It took a bit of his concentration but he knew it would be worth it. The ninja canine stopped and growled at him. He knew that it was telling him that they were where Temari's scent stopped.

"Took you long enough leaf-brat!"

Shikamaru looked up into the trees and saw an Anbu leaning against the tree's trunk. He could tell from the voice that this Anbu was a woman.

'Just my luck another troublesome woman.' Shikamaru thought.

"Nothing to say? That's interesting because she wouldn't shut up!" The Anbu shouted as she pointed higher up into the canopy.

Shikamaru looked up and saw Temari's bound form struggling against the rope that wrapped around her arms and legs. She was hanging from a second rope and suspended in mid air. She was gagged, but Shikamaru could already tell from the muffled shouts that she was very upset.

"As soon as she woke up it was threat after threat! Man she really irks me!" The Anbu said as she sent a glare up towards Temari's form, a glare that Temari returned with twice the intensity.

"Are you the one that captured her?" Shikamaru asked in a bored tone that conflicted with his rigid stance.

"So what if I am?" The Anbu returned.

"Then you're going to find out just how troublesome it is to anger me." Shikamaru said as he stance straightened and a dangerous light appeared in his dark eyes.

"We'll see brat." The Anbu said.

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Neji moved with a precision and speed that would have confused anyone who saw that his eyes were bound. While he may have seemed clam on the exterior he was tormented inside his mind. He found that he was less angry at the kidnapper and more upset with himself. Tenten had been alone and vulnerable because he was too much of a coward to tell her how he felt about her. He had remained silent when she had expressed her feelings and felt that this was his entire fault.

'Wait for me Tenten-chan. I will find you and whoever took you will feel my wrath!' Neji thought as he remembered what Tenten's father had responded when an Anbu came to the door and told him about her kidnapping.

'Bring her back Neji.'

This was all he had said before he turned to leave. He was a retired ninja and would be unable to do anything expect leave the fate of his only child in Neji's hands. Neji refused to fail. Not just for Tenten, but also to for the man that had opened his house and given Neji a home. Something that Neji felt he had lost when his father had died.

The ninja dog stopped and Neji immediately scanned the tree line.

"A blind ninja? How boring. And here I thought I would actually have some competition."

Neji turned his head in the direction he had heard the voice come from.

"Tell me where she is and I'll make you death swift." Neji said in a clam tone.

"Ha! And how do you plan to do that? You can't even see!" The Anbu yelled as he decided to get rid of the Hyuga quickly. He threw a kunai at Neji, expecting it to embed itself in his head.

Neji grabbed the kunai from the air and then turned to scan the tree line again. He threw the kunai upwards and with surprising precision, he jumped to catch the falling unconscious form of Tenten.

The Anbu was stunned for a moment. There was no way the kid should have been able to cut the rope he had suspended her on. Heck he shouldn't have even been able to see! How had he been able to find the girl in her hiding spot as well as catch a kunai approaching his head at high speeds?

Neji gently set Tenten on the ground, propping her up on a tree. He gave her face a brief caress before turning to the Anbu. He grabbed the wrappings around his eyes and allowed them to fall to the earth.

"Underestimating an opponent will get you killed." Neji said as he revealed his face.

The Anbu's eyes widened behind his mask when he saw that he was staring into the fully functional Byakugan eyes of Neji Hyuga.

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The ninja dog was running at full speed, and it still found itself a few feet behind Rock Lee. Lee was holding himself back quite a bit so that the dog wouldn't fall too far behind. He was listening closely for a signal from the dog. Should it bark, he would turn, stop and change in the direction it went in. He wanted to get there as fast as possible.

He continued to run until the dog suddenly barked and changed direction. Lee followed until he found that they had broken through the thick forest and were in a meadow with flat lands of grass far and wide. This was not what caught his attention, however. There in the middle of the field was the lone form of an Anbu as well as the slumped form of Sakura.

"Sakura-chan!" Lee yelled as he raced towards her.

He jumped out of the way quickly to avoid the long white sword the Anbu had attempted to skewer him with.

"Get out of the way!" Lee yelled as he attacked the Anbu. He couldn't care less who he was or who he worked for. He wanted him broken at his feet!

"**Konoha Senpu!**" Lee yelled as he began to spin in the air. He launched three decisive kicks towards the Anbu's head and chest. The Anbu blocked the first two with his sword and jumped back with a back flip to avoid the last. Lee took this moment to grab Sakura and leapt away from the enemy. He was stopped when he felt something wrap around his ankle. He looked down and was surprised to see a whip made of some strange substance wrapped around his ankle.

"Where are you going? We have a fight to begin." The Anbu said in an unemotional tone.

Lee was torn between his desire to get Sakura to safety and the burning urge to beat this opponent to a bloody pulp, if he was lucky. Lee knew that his opponent wouldn't just let him leave, thus he knew that a fight was the only option; not that Lee was upset about this revelation. Lee gently set her aside to lie on the ground as he turned around to regard his opponent.

"Leave her out of this. This battle is between you and me." Lee said as he fell into the iron fist stance.

"Agreed." The Anbu responded as a second white sword appeared in his second hand.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"We're getting closer Kakashi." Pakkun said to the ninja beside him. He only got a nod in return.

"Is there something you're not telling me about this female we're looking for? I've never seen you this focused or grime." Pakkun said.

"Just get me there Pakkun." Kakashi said in a clipped tone.

"Okay, okay no need to get snippy. Though if I didn't know any better I would think that you feel something for her." Pakkun said.

Kakashi didn't reply. He was far too focused on getting Kurenai back. He was also concerned about the kidnapper. For someone to get the drop on an experienced fighter like her, they must have been powerful.

'Doesn't really matter though as he'll be dead before the sun sets.' Kakshi thought darkly.

"We're here!" Pakkun said as he stopped.

Kakashi stopped as well and pulled his head band up, revealing his sharingan.

"Kakashi Hatake. I must say that it will be an honor fighting against one as well respected as you."

Kakashi looked behind him to see an Anbu. He could tell from the mask that he was not part of the regular members.

"Were is she?" Kakashi said in a low tone.

"She? Oh you mean that very beautiful jonin. I must say that you have good taste." The Anbu said in a mocking tone.

"Tell me where she is." Kakashi responded as his body tensed.

"Have you seen what her body looks like without that dress on? She's quite the looker. Maybe after I kill you, I'll have a taste of her body." The Anbu replied in a sickly sweet tone.

"It seems that you won't tell me where you've put her. Very well, that just means that I'll have to make you talk." Kakashi growled, attempting to reign in his fury. He was far too experienced to allow anger to cloud his judgment. That this ninja had been able to capture Kurenai showed that he was no pushover.

"Oh? Very well then, the time for talk is over. I'll kill you and take my time making her scream." The Anbu said; had Kakashi been able to see his face he knew that he would find a sick smirk on his opponent's face.

"You'll never even look at her again. Your future is death!" Kakashi shouted as he raced towards his enemy.

The laid back jonin teacher was gone. All that was left was the former Anbu caption. The man that was still feared by all enemies who had been lucky enough to see him in action and live to tell about it. All that was left was the copy ninja Kakashi Hatake.

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Shino was not someone who got angry, easily. However, when Haku was involved, Shino found that he felt things much more acutely. At the moment he was feeling anger, anxiety, and confusion. He was confused because he couldn't understand why his insects hadn't been able to alert him to the fact that she was in trouble when she was kidnapped. When questioned, his hive gave him the explanation that they hadn't been able to pick up on it. They had been far too busy dealing with the feelings of happiness, elation, and joy that were running rampant throughout his body that night. According to the insects, Haku's insect's signal of distress was lost in the spread of emotion he was already feeling.

'That is unacceptable.' Shino thought in annoyance. He did not regret the feeling that Haku brought out in him, but he was upset that he had not been paying enough attention to discern a warning signal from his other feelings.

Shino was broken out of his thought when he suddenly felt a familiar presence.

The ninja dog growled as it stopped. Shino was already in motion. He unleashed a swarm of his insects and sent them into the trees.

"**Aburame Style: Spider Entrapment Jutsu!**" Shino yelled as he sent his jutsu into the trees. He pulled back slowly and brought Haku's bound, unconscious body towards him. He canceled his jutsu as he cradled her body to his.

'Haku-chan.' He thought fondly.

"Well you found her hiding spot much sooner than I thought you would."

Shino set her to the side and set a few of his insects onto her body. Should his enemy attempt to grab her, he would quickly begin to lose his chakra to the insects.

Shino turned to look at his foe. There was something strange about him. There was an odd hump shape on his back. Regardless, Shino surrounded himself with a swarm of his insects. He pushed his glasses up slowly as he prepared himself.

"What? Aren't you even going to say anything?" The Anbu asked, confused by his lack of expression. He had been expecting anger, or some yelling.

"Words are wasted on the dead." Shino said calmly as his insects flew towards the enemy.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto raced behind the ninja dog. His thoughts were solely focused on retrieving Hinata and making sure that Sasuke, and anyone else working with him found out just how detrimental to their health taking her was.

He soon emerged from the tree line and was fast approaching the valley of the end. He didn't pay much attention in class before Anko began to train him, but one lesson had intrigued him. It was the story of how the first hokage had battled Madara Uchiha at this very spot. It was because the founder of the Uchiha clan had not been chosen for the position of Hokage. He was planning revenge until the first had defeated him in combat. It appealed to Naruto then as he was focused on any and everything that had to do with the past Hokages.

He soon followed the canine up the side of the statue that had been erected in remembrance of the first. Suddenly the dog stopped and Naruto didn't have to ask why. Directly across from him, standing on the statue of Madara Uchiha was Sasuke, lying beside him was the unconscious form of Hinata.

"Naruto." Sasuke said simply in a clam tone.

"Sasuke." Naruto responded in an equally calm voice, though on the inside he was churning with anger.

"Dobe." Sasuke said as a sneer appeared on his face.

"Teme." Naruto said as a scowl appeared on his.

"Demon!" Sasuke yelled in anger as his fully developed Sharingan activated.

"Traitor!" Naruto responded as his eyes turned a crimson red.

"Traitor, you know that's the exact thing that your precious Hinata said to me." Sasuke stated as he picked her up.

"Here's the deal Sasuke, let Hinata-chan go and I'll only cripple you for life." Naruto said. The only reason he had not attacked yet was because he didn't want anything to happen to Hinata. Once she was safely out of the way, however, Sasuke would feel the full fury of Naruto's rage.

"And if I refuse?" Sasuke said with a superior smirk, he didn't look afraid in the least despite the enormous killing intent Naruto was releasing.

"Then there will be one less Uchiha in the world." Naruto said in a tone so cold that it left no doubt that he would make it a reality should Sasuke not comply.

"Hinata is a beautiful girl Naruto. I do wonder how a demon like you was able to get with her. Then again maybe she's just one of those girls that like to pity lesser beings." Sasuke replied, ignoring Naruto's last statement.

"I know you've kissed her. I wonder how she tastes." Sasuke said as he got close to Hinata's cheek and placed a small kiss onto it.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Naruto roared as he rushed Sasuke. He stopped instantly when Sasuke brought a kunai up to the throat of Hinata. He looked directly at Naruto with that same smug, superior look on his face. Naruto knew that Sasuke would kill Hinata if he made any sudden movements.

"As I was saying, I do wonder how she must taste. Then again, you've already kissed her. As an Uchiha I deserve only the best of everything. I guess I'll just have to take something better." Sasuke said as he never broke eye contact with Naruto.

Sasuke slowly brought the kunai down towards Hinata's dress. Naruto's eyes widened in horror at the look on Sasuke's face. He knew what the Uchiha was going to do. Sasuke sliced his kunai down, cutting Hinata's dress down to her waist.

"**UCHIHA!**" Naruto roared in rage. He stopped once again when Sasuke brought the kunai up to her throat.

"Now, now Naruto. We wouldn't want anything to happen to her would we?" He asked with a sick smile on his face. He could see that Naruto was bordering on utter blind rage, which was exactly what Sasuke wanted.

'Just a little bit more.' Sasuke thought as he decided on the final act that would throw Naruto over the edge.

Naruto was teetering on the cusp of utter fury. A fury so deep, so powerful that it rivaled Kyuubi's own. Naruto had to fight with all of his strength not to fly into a blind rage. His vision was quickly turning red with the haze of sheer blind, raw fury. He could feel himself slipping though.

'I have to stay in control! If I fly off the handle, I'll be in deep trouble.' Naruto thought as he attempted to calm himself. The rage was still there, but now he was controlling it, it wasn't controlling him.

"She's very developed for her age. She'll be a real beauty when she gets older. Maybe I'll keep her after you're gone." Sasuke said. He saw that Naruto was slowly controlling his rage.

'That won't do.' He thought as a dark thought came to mind.

"I'm going to do you a favor Naruto. I'm sure you've done nothing more that kiss her as you don't know how to take the next step. Let me show you what you would never see own your own." He said as he sliced the only remaining garment that covered Hinata's chest, her bra.

That was all it took. Naruto's eyes turned pure red, a crimson aura erupted around him, and with a roar that echoed miles away he raced towards Sasuke. There were no longer any cognitive thoughts. Naruto was lost in the waves of unadulterated fury running rampant throughout his body. He had become a slave to his rage. The only thing that could be considered a thought was the single driven purpose that he now followed.

'Kill.'

Sasuke quickly dropped Hinata as Naruto raced towards him. Naruto howled in fury as he thrust his claws towards Sasuke's head. Naruto soon found his claws swinging through empty space. A look of confusion appeared on his face before he heard a voice from behind him.

"**Five Pronged Seal!**" Sasuke yelled as he thrust his hand into Naruto's navel.

Naruto had been so blinded by his rage that he had let himself fly off the handle. This ensured that he attacked as a wild animal, with no thought at all to how strong his opponent might be. All this became clear and Naruto cursed himself when he felt Sasuke's fingers sear through his shirt and slam into his navel. He felt Kyuubi's chakra completely leave his body as he gave a strangled cry of pain and was thrown off of the statue down the waterfall to land in the body of water below.

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**Here's chapter 40. I know you wanted more action but don't worry. Now that this is out of the way I can get to the good stuff! Action, action and more ACTION! What kind of fighters are our hero's going up against? What is Naruto going to do now that he has been hit with the five prong seal? That is a secret! **

**Till next time Kyuubi123 out!**


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

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Choji rushed forward in a burst of surprising speed. He jumped and attempted to hit his enemy with a drop kick. However, the Anbu stood his ground and blocked the kick. He was surprised to find that the force of the blow was enough to cause his arms to ache a bit.

'Maybe he'll be a decent opponent.' He thought as he grabbed Choji's leg and hurled him towards a tree. Choji quickly righted himself and used his chakra to stick to the tree.

"**Ninja art! Human Bullet Tank!**" Choji yelled out as he launched himself towards his opponent. The Anbu jumped into a tree to avoid the attack; however, Choji would not be so easily evaded. Choji smashed through the tree without losing any momentum. He then struck a boulder to launch himself towards the falling body of his enemy. The Anbu was only able to put his arms up in defense before he was rammed by the massive ball of muscle. Choji canceled his jutsu and simply waited. He knew that the fight was far from over.

"You ruined my outfit." The enemy ninja said as he revealed himself. He tore off his mask and cloak and Choji's eye widened as he recognized the outfit. His opponent was very large and had orange hair that was in a strange style. He wore a beige shirt and had a large purple rope tied around his waist.

"Not that it matters but the name's Jirobo of the sound five." Jirobo said as he stretched his muscles. He seemed to have shrugged off a massive hit from Choji like it was child's play.

"Sound five? You're one of Orochimaru's men?" Choji asked in surprise and a bit of apprehension.

"I'm part of his personal guard! You've got no chance against me brat." Jirobo said with a smile as he slammed his fist into the ground. He pulled up a large chunk of earth and hurled it towards Choji.

Choji stood his ground and held both hands out. He braced himself and when the boulder slammed into his hands, he was able to arrest its motion. However, he could tell that Jirobo had a great deal of power in his body.

"**Earth style, Clay Prison.**"

Choji's eyes widened when a dome of earth rose from the ground to capture him.

'What the heck is this?' Choji thought as he punched the dome. While the mound of earth cracked slightly, it didn't give and quickly repaired itself.

"You're finished fatso! With this technique, I'll drain all of your chakra from your body!" Jirobo said in a smug tone as he continued to slowly suck Choji's energy away.

"No way am I going out like this. You're not getting off so easily after what you did to Ino!" Choji yelled as he proceeded to deliver blow after blow to the walls. However, as quickly as he damaged them, they were able to repair themselves.

'This is taking too long. Soon I'll be all out of chakra. There has to be a weak spot.' Choji thought with a small pant. He could fell his chakra being drained. He quickly attacked all of the walls of his prison, trying to find a weak point. He was in luck and discovered that the damage he delivered to the very back of the dome repaired itself at a noticeably slower rate.

'That's my ticket out of here!' Choji thought as he pulled out a scroll.

'Heh. Almost done, and here I thought he might actually be a challenge.' Jirobo thought to himself.

He was quickly broken out of that line of thought when he heard the telltale sound of earth being destroyed. From the back of the shattered dome of earth stood Choji. However, what made Jirobo's eyes widen in shock was what he wielded in his hand. Choji was carrying a battle club that was almost the size of a full grown man in one hand!

"Did you really think that it would be that easy?! I won't stop until you're nothing but a stain on the forest floor!" Choji shouted as he rushed forward and swung his club down. Jirobo was just able to jump away before Choji created a crater where he had just been standing.

'That kid has some power!" Jirobo thought in surprise as he eyed the crater.

"Pay attention!"

Jirobo looked up and was surprised when he saw that Choji was above him and was swiftly swinging his club towards Jirobo's head.

'How did he move so fast?!' Jirobo thought as he raised both his arms up to block the blow.

Choji swung down onto Jirobo's arms and smiled when he felt, and heard, both arms crack under the massive amount of force been exerted onto them. Jirobo cried out in pain as he was sent hurtling towards the ground.

"**Human Bullet Tank!**" Choji roared as he expanded in size and slammed into the prone form of Jirobo, creating a massive crater.

Choji stood over the still form of Jirobo. He was fairly sure that the enemy ninja wouldn't be moving again, but when he turned to look at the still unconscious Ino, his rage came back and he raised his club above his head. He was going to make sure that Jirobo never threatened anyone ever again. That he was one of Orochimaru's ninja was just another mark against him in Choji's mind.

"Die!" Choji shouted as he swung towards Jirobo's head, seeking to cave it in.

Choj's eyes widened in surprise when a hand rose up and easily blocked the blow.

'What the?' Choji thought as he felt a massive blow be delivered to his chest. He let go of his club and flew back, breaking through a tree.

Choji slowly rose to his feet and looked towards his opponent. Jirobo was on his feet and unharmed. Choji's eyes narrowed as he noticed the change in his adversary. All over Jirobo's body were dark patterns. Choji recognized them as similar to the ones that Sasuke had on his body during the forest of death. Jirobo's were slightly different in appearance, though the feel of the chakra was just as tainted.

"I must say that I didn't expect you to be such a challenge. However, this is where it ends for you kid." Jirobo said with a smile as he dashed towards Choji.

'He got much faster!' Choji thought as he raised his arms in defense. Jirobo returned the favor and smashed Choji's own weapon into him. Choji was launched through another tree and was very slow to get back to his feet.

'Darn it! I had hoped not to use these.' Choji thought as he pulled out a case with three pills. They were green, yellow and red. Choji opened the case and quickly ate the green pill.

"A little chakra pill won't help you!" Jirobo yelled as he attempted to hit Choji again.

However, the tables were turned and Choji grabbed his club and punched Jirobo. Jirobo flew back, but quickly righted himself. He smashed the ground once again and threw a massive boulder towards Choji. Choji gave a battle cry and smashed the giant rock into dust with his club.

"Is that all you can do?" Choji asked with a determined look on his face.

"Hardly." Jirobo answered and he rushed in to finish the Akamichi.

He attempted to smash him in the head. Choji blocked high and then grabbed Jirobo around the wait. He hauled the giant man up into the air and slammed him into the ground. Choji attempted to slam his foot into Jirobo's chest when the sound ninja grabbed his foot and threw him back.

"**Partial Expansion: Arm!**" Choji yelled out as he thrust his giant arm forward. Jirobo saw the attack and swiftly jumped to the side, only to get hit by the giant leg of Choji.

'Now to finish this." Choji thought as he grabbed his club. He suddenly felt a very sharp pain in his gut that nearly caused him to double over.

'Not now!' He thought as he fell to his knees. The pills he had were the special chakra pills made by his family. With each one taken, his power would jump up significantly. However, each had a severe draw back that affected his body.

"You're not finished yet are you? How disappointing."

Choji looked up as Jirobo kicked him in the face. Choji slide back with a cry of pain. He slowly rose to his feet, just Jirobo attacked once again. He punched Choji in the chest, and then hit him with a massive uppercut. Choji flew into the air with a grunt of pain and slowly began to fall back down. Jirobo picked up Choji's club and slammed it into his chest as he was about to hit the ground. With a strangled cry of pain, Choji was thrown back and skid to a stop.

'I was hoping that I wouldn't have to us this.' Choji thought as he numbly grabbed the yellow pill from the case. While the green pill had given him the power to go toe to toe with Jirobo in brute strength, its side affects ensured that he wouldn't be able to keep up long. Thus he was counting on the yellow pill to give him the strength he needed for victory.

"Not a bad fight kid, but this is where you die and don't worry about the girl. I'll take good care of her." Jirobo said with a smile as he raised Choji's club above his head.

"**Akamichi Style: Full Body Expansion!**" Choji shouted out as he rose to his feet. Jirobo's eyes widened as the small boy began to grow right before his eyes. Choji grew and grew until he was the size of a giant. He stared down at his opponent and knew that he would have to finish this quickly. At his age, he didn't have the chakra or the experience necessary to utilize his size fully.

"Time to end this! **Double Palm Slam!**" Choji shouted as his two hands glowed bright with highly concentrated chakra. He thrust his hand down towards the stunned Jirobo. Jirobo had not time at all to defend himself, not that it would truly have done any good. Choji slammed his giant, chakra enhanced hands into the ground, causing a massive explosion of debris.

Choji immediately canceled his jutsu and returned to his regular size. He fell to his knees in exhaustion and coughed up blood. The second pill allowed him to bypass the limits of his body and utilize the full body expansion that truly made the people of his clan fearsome. Not many enemies would try and attack a group of ninja that could literally become giants on the battlefield. However, Choji's body was still a few years from being able to naturally do this technique and it was in agony.

'Can't stop now. I've got to free Ino.' Choji thought as he got to his feet. He limped over to Ino all the while his body in constant pain from the first two pills as well as the thrashing that he had received from Jirobo. Choji approached Ino and used a kunai to cut the ropes binding her.

"Ino-chan. Ino-chan wake up." Choji said softly as he gently shook her with one of his hands. His other hand was handling his chest. He was pretty sure that Jirobo had cracked or broken a few of them as it was getting harder for him to breathe.

"Ugh, what happened?" Ino asked as she slowly came to consciousness with a massive head ache. She found that she was lying in the dirt in the middle of a forest and Choji was beside her.

"Choji-kun!" She cried out as she saw his battle worn body. She quickly helped lay him down on the ground.

"Hey Ino-chan good to see you're okay." He said with a small smile.

"Choji-kun what happened? The last thing I remember was an Anbu telling me that Tsunade-sama wanted to see me, then he grabbed me and everything went blank." She said as she tried to figure out why Choji was in such a ragged state.

"That was no Anbu he was one of Orochimaru's men. Don't worry though. I took him out and now you're safe." He said softly.

"He must have really done a number on you Choji-kun for you to be in such a state." She replied in a soft comforting tone.

"This is all very sweet, but unfortunately I am far from defeated."

Choji and Ino both turned unbelieving eyes towards the form of Jirobo.

'That's not possible!' Choji thought as Jirobo fully revealed his new body. His skin was now a light redish brown color. His hair was covering his entire head and extended down his back. His corneas were now yellow with the surrounding eye being pure black.

"W-what are you?" Ino asked in fear.

"I am one of Orochimaru's personal guards. Did you really think you could kill me you brat?" He asked as he slammed his hands into the ground.

"**Ninja Art: Clay Prison.**" He said as a dome of earth surrounded the two genin.

"This is where you die brat. Your chakra is so low that you'll soon be dead from chakra exhaustion. Don't worry about the girl though. I'll make sure that she lives. Orochimaru-sama has plans for her." Jirobo said to the now trapped ninja.

"No! No one is going to take her away and no one is going to die here but you!" Choji exclaimed as he attempted to get to his feet.

"Careful Choji-kun! You're in no condition to fight him right now." Ino said as she grabbed onto the rising Choji.

"I know Ino-chan. That's why I have only one option left." He said with a sad smile as he pulled out the red pill.

"Choji-kun no!!!" Ino shouted in fear. She knew all about those pills as their families were always very close. She knew that no one had ever survived the aftereffects of the red pill. It gave them amazing power for a short period of time, but the result was always death.

"I have no choice Ino-chan. I have to do this. Not only to defeat him, but to save you." He said as he pulled her towards him for a kiss.

Choji had always been a shy person. He was always self conscious about his weight as he had been ridiculed over it ever since he was a young child. When he was placed on the team with Shikamaru and Ino, he was both happy and apprehensive. He was happy to be on the same team as his best friend and the girl he liked, but he was apprehensive as he believed that there was no way that she would ever notice him and begin so close to her without ever being with her would be a fate worse than death. Imagine his surprise when she began to warm up to him and accepted his invitation to go to the festival. Choji had been happier during that date then he could ever remember being. If this was the time for him to die, then he would go with no regrets as long as he could assure her survival. Choji pulled back from the kiss and gave Ino a small, sad smile. He ate the red pill and stood away from her.

Jirobo suddenly felt a massive wave of chakra within the dome that held the two ninja. He had planned on sucking the boy dry and taking the girl back to Danzo as per Orochimaru's orders. While the boy had put up quite a fight and given him various significant wounds, he was sure that he second curse seal form would be enough to take him down. He watched as the dome of earth was broken down and there stood the boy, but he had changed.

Choji's form had changed drastically. He was now slim and toned with not an ounce of fat anywhere on his body. His wounds seemed to be completely healed and two large butterfly wings composed entirely of chakra were connected to his back. Ino sat with an awed look on her face at Choji's new form.

"C-Choji-kun?" She asked in wonder.

"I'm sorry Ino-chan." He said softly as he turned towards jirobo.

"It's time to finish this fight." Choji said as he took flight towards jirobo.

'So fast!' Jirobo thought as he brought his arms up to block. Choji's punch broke through Jirobo's defense and the sound ninja was forcibly thrown back through a tree. He got to his feet and snarled at Choji, who was standing calmly, as if the fight was already decided.

"Don't underestimate me kid! **Ninja Art: Avalanche smash!**" He yelled as he slammed the ground with his fists. The ground broke apart as huge chunks of earth floated before him. He thrust his arms forward as the chunks of earth flew towards Choji.

Choji's expression darkened and with a growl, he rushed towards the flying debris. He smashed his way through boulder after boulder until he found himself approaching the largest of the projectiles. He punched through it as well, but was caught by surprise when Jirobo appeared in front of him. Jirobo had used the final boulder to obscure Choji's vision and allow himself to catch Choji by surprise. He punched Choji in the face and grabbed his arm before he could get away. He used all of his strength to slam Choji into the ground and then proceeded to slam blow after devastating blow into the stunned ninja chest. So powerful were the blows that Choji's body was forming a crater in the ground.

"Stop it!!"

Jirobo turned to look at the girl that he had captured. She had her hands in a strange seal and tears were flowing from her eyes.

"You won't hurt him anymore! **Ninja art: Mind destruction!**" Ino yelled out. It was a new technique that her father had taught her. It was supposed to cause the person it was caste on to lose their minds and attack enemy ninja. She had hoped that Jirobo would go crazy and hurt himself. However, this didn't happen. Jirobo simply looked at her as if nothing had changed.

"Don't' insult me. I was chosen to capture you, don't you think that I was taught how to defend myself against your tricks. As long as my chakra is stronger than yours, you'll be unable to do anything against me." He said with a cruel smirk. It was true that for Yamanaka techniques to work, they either needed to catch their opponent off guard so that they wouldn't be able to defend themselves or they would have to overpower their opponent's minds, which required that they had equal or great chakra then their adversary.

"I'm supposed to take you back unharmed, but I am very upset with you for trying something like that. A few broken bones shouldn't cause too much of a problem for me." He said as he walked towards her. Ino backed away, desperately trying to think of a way to help Choji.

'Isn't there anything I can do?! How can I call myself a shinobi and yet I can't even help the one I care about?!' Ino thought to herself as Jirobo came closer. The sheer magnitude of his chakra was making it difficult for her to breath.

"Say goodnight." He said as he pulled his arm back to deliver a blow to her head. Both were shocked when his arms was caught from behind.

"You forget about someone?"

Jirobo turned only to be met with a blow to the face courtesy of Choji's club. Choji had seen better days. His clothes were torn, he had a black eye, and he was pretty sure that Jirobo had just broken half of the bones in his body. However, he would never submit. He would never stop until his opponent paid for what he had done!

He flew towards the stunned form of Jirobo and slammed him back into the ground with another devastating blow from his club. He stood over the dazed for of Jirobo and placed a foot on his chest to keep him from rising.

"Just so you know. You should make sure someone is dead before you go after the one they love." Choji announced as he raised his arm into the arm. He focused all of his chakra into his fist and with a roar, slammed it into Jirobo's chest. Jirobo let loose a roar of pain that slowly died out as his body returned to normal and his life left his body.

Choji stood over his defeated foe with a look of peace on his face. He had done it! He had killed the one who dared attack Ino. He felt no regrets as he fell to his back and his vision began to darken. The affects of the red pill, along with the massive amount of damage that his body had been subjected too was catching up to him.

"Choji-kun!!!"

Choji was able to look up into the eyes of Ino. He could feel his life fading and couldn't even raise a finger to comfort her. He knew his death would hurt her, but he had no regrets about giving his life for her.

"Why did you do that?!!! Why Choji?!" She cried out as she laid her head on his chest. She could tell that he was in no condition to move and she knew that the damage he had received as well as the affects of the red pill would take his life.

"You always had my heart Ino-chan. I would have died inside if I knew that you were captured and I did nothing to help you. It's okay Ino-chan. If I have to die, then I can think of no better way than going out protecting the one I love." Choji said softly as his vision began to darken.

"Choji-kun? Choji-kun?! CHOJI-KUN!!" Ino cried out in despair as she felt her heart break.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So you actually have use of your eyes. This fight may be worth the trouble your little girlfriend put me through." The fake anbu stated as he looked at Neji.

Neji felt a rush of satisfaction that Tenten had been able to, at least slightly, fight off her assailant.

"That just shows how weak you are. You had trouble capturing an opponent even when you had the element of surprise." Neji said in a condescending tone.

"Shut your mouth brat!" The ninja yelled out in anger as a kunai flew towards Neji.

'Got you!' Neji thought as he grabbed the kunai from the air and swiftly threw it back in the direction it came. Neji's eyes caught the movement of his adversary as he avoided the weapon and swiftly jumped to face him.

The ninja looked surprised by Neji's speed and precision and was slow to block the palm thrust that hit him in the arm. His arm fell to his side, useless, as Neji continued to attack.

'I won't give him a chance to retaliate.' Neji thought as he continued to throw blow after blow at his opponent. Neji saw a brief opening and delivered a swift palm strike directly to his opponent's heart. The fake anbu coughed up blood as he suddenly exploded. Neji suddenly found himself covered in sticky white strands of what looked to be spider silk.

'What is this?' Neji thought.

"How do you like my special spider silk? It's made in my body and can't be broken." The ninja said as he revealed himself. He was no longer wearing the mask or cloak of an anbu. He wore a beige shirt and dark pants with a long purple rope wrapped around his waist. His had a sound head band on but the most startling feature about him was that he had six arms!

"The name's Kidomaru of the sound five, Orochimaru-sama's personal body guard unit." He replied with a smirk.

"Interesting that you would reveal so much information before you are sure that your opponent won't be able to use it later." Neji said in an unconcerned tone.

"Didn't you hear me? No one can break out of my special webbing. You're trapped." Kidomaru replied with a smirk.

"I told you once before not to underestimate me. It seems that I will have to show you why that is." Neji said as he expelled chakra from his body, breaking through all of the strands.

"What?!" Kidomaru shouted in surprise.

"Your webs are strong because of the chakra running through them. However, my eyes show me the weak points in your webs, where I need only to inject a bit of my chakra to break them. But this is all a moot point." Neji said, his tone never changing.

"And why is that?" Kidomaru asked in anger. He was not used to fighting an opponent that could break his webs.

"Because you're in my range." Neji said as he slid into position.

"**Eight Trigrams: 64 Strikes!**" Neji yelled out as he dashed forward in a burst of speed and began to strike all 64 our Kidomaru's tenketsu. Kidomaru couldn't defend against the swift blows and could only cry out as he was blasted off of the branch he stood on and fell to the earth.

Neji didn't spare him another look as he jumped down to check on Tenten. She was still unconscious and Neji decided to awaken her. Before he could, however, he was forced to jump to the side or take a kunai to the back. He turned and was shocked to see that Kidomaru was unharmed.

"How are you still alive?" Neji asked in surprise.

"That was a very powerful technique if I hadn't had time to use my defense then I could had died." Kidomaru said with his usual smirk.

"I make my webs through use of my chakra. That being said, I can have it seep through my pores. All I had to do was have it coat my body when you started your attack. It stopped the chakra from getting through to my body and your blows themselves lacked the power to physically hurt me. You should take your own advice and not underestimate me boy." Kidomaru said as all six of his arms pulled gold looking, hooked blades from his mouth.

'I see.' Neji thought as he looked at the webs. He could either make them lucid to ensnare, or he could harden them like steel. Neji could tell that this fight would be harder than he first assumed.

'No matter. I'll still kill him.' He thought as he prepared himself for battle. Fighting an opponent with six arms would truly test him.

Kidomaru rushed forward and slashed with one of his arms. Neji was able to duck under the blow. Neji was then forced to side step to avoid a second strike from another arm. Neji jumped into that air as Kidomaru attacked his legs with his remaining four. Neji kicked Kidomaru in the face and followed up with a strike towards his shoulder.

However, Kidomaru brought a blade up to block the blow. The blade shattered under the sudden influx of chakra. Kidomaru back away and threw his projectiles towards Neji. The Hyuga was able to avoid them, though he did receive a cut to the leg.

Kidomaru eyed him for a moment before he jumped into the trees. He could tell that the kid had great reflexes and those eyes of his obviously allowed him to see all around him. How else would he have been able to avoid kunai thrown directly at his back? Kidomaru decided to take time out and plan how he was going to trap this elusive fly.

"Running away? I thought you were one of Orochiamru's personal guards. I am not impressed." Neji said as he scanned the forest for his foe. He caught sight of Kidomaru a few meters away and stared directly at him.

"I see you." Neji said simply as he pulled out three shuriken. He threw them with perfect precision towards him. Kidomaru jumped above them but felt a sharp pain in his leg. He looked down and saw a kunai in his leg.

'He baited me.' Kidomaru thought in annoyance.

Neji smiled as his secondary attack connected. Living with Tenten and her father for the past few months had forced him to improve his throwing abilities. He was far from perfect like Tenten, but he could proudly say that with his byakugan active, he could give her a run for her money in accuracy.

'I've had it with this kid!' Kidomaru thought as dark markings began to spread over his body. He swiftly ran through the hand signs for summoning and slammed his palm and web he quickly made.

Neji looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of a giant spider above him. It was lying on a giant web and Kidomaru was standing upside down on its back. The spider gave a grunt of exertion as a long white egg sack slowly left its body.

"Let's see how well you can dodge boy!" Kidomaru yelled as he slashed the sack lengthwise. Swarms of small spiders fell down towards Neji.

"**Kaiten!**" Neji yelled as he began to spin. The spiders bounced off of the dome of chakra; however, the silk they were creating forced the rotating dome of chakra to slow down.

'Now!' Kidomaru thought as he pulled on a string of webbing. Suddenly, scores of kunai made from his special webs flew towards Neji. Neji couldn't create another kaiten with the spiders still falling down, however, he also couldn't block the kunai and dodge the spiders at the same time.

'I guess these will come in handy!' Neji thought as he pulled out a scroll. Neji unsealed duel curved broad swords. This scroll had been given to him by Tenten's father right before he had left to find her.

"**Eight Trigrams: 64 Strikes!**" Neji yelled out as he took the stance necessary. Suddenly he became a blur of movement. Any spiders that fell towards him were shredded by the blade. Any kunai were knocked away by the blurs of steel that Neji wielded. Neji had been training long and hard to incorporate a weapon with his style. Tenten's father had suggested using swords. Not even Tenten knew about the private lessons that he had been receiving as he wanted his use of them to be a surprise.

'That's not possible!' Kidomaru thought. He suddenly narrowed his eyes when he saw one kunai deliver a glancing blow to the area right above the third vertebrae.

'Interesting, he didn't see that attack coming. Those eyes of his seem to have a blind spot.' Kidomaru thought as he made his spider summon produce more of the smaller arachnids. He watched as Neji once again batted them away with his blades. He waited for the right moment then let loose six kunai, one from each of his hands. Neji was able to detect and block five of them, but the final kunai stabbed him directly in the spot that Kidomaru had discovered was his blind spot.

'Heh, now is the part where I can have some fun!' He thought with a smirk.

Neji cringed in pain as he pulled the kunai out of his back. It appeared that his opponent discovered his blind spot. He looked around but couldn't find Kidomaru.

'He must have moved beyond my field of vision.' Neji thought to himself as he closed his eyes to think of a plan.

He suddenly opened them as it became obvious what he should do. Without distractions, he would be able to easily block any strikes directed at his blind spot. With that in mind, Neji looked up at the giant spider summon.

"Here I go!" Neji yelled as he held his swords out. They took on a bright blue color as they were covered in chakra. Neji ran and slashed completely through the trunks of the two trees that held the web the spider was lying on.

'What the heck?!' Kidomaru thought in surprise. He had no idea that those blades could channel chakra! He could only watch as his spider fell to the ground. It righted itself in midair, but Neji was already prepared. As the spider gave a roar of anger and attempted to crush Neji under its weight, the Hyuga began to spin.

"**Kaiten!**" Neji yelled out as he spun. However this rotation was slightly different. Neji held his arms out, thus his blades were spinning with the dome of chakra. The spider landed on the dome and was sawed through. It dispersed in a cloud of smoke and Neji stopped his spin. However, Kidomaru had not been idle as this was happening.

Neji coughed up blood as his back was suddenly riddled with four more kunai. Kidomaru had waited for Neji to end his spin, knowing that with the smoke and inevitable slight disorientation that occurred after spinning at such high speeds, that the young genin would be open for attack.

'I let my guard down.' Neji thought in pain as he fell to his knees.

"Nice moves you got there kid. However, this is where it ends." Kidomaru said as he landed in front of Neji, confident that the Hyuga had used up his chakra.

"I can't believe it." Neji said softly as he held his head down.

"Can't believe what? That you were defeated by me. Face it kid you fighting me is like a fly attempting to get away from a spider." Kidomaru said as he pulled out hooked blades from his mouth.

"No, what I can't believe is that you would be foolish enough to get so close to me! **Eight Trigrams: 128 Strikes!**" Neji yelled as he leapt to his feet and attacked Kidomaru. Kidomaru quickly excreted the same golden webbing around his body, hoping to once again block the strikes. However, unlike before, Neji's swords added a whole new threat to the attack.

With a speed and grace that revealed his superb mastery of the gentle fist style, Neji slashed, and stabbed his blades through Kidomaru's armor. While his chakra may not have been able to break through alone, the blades themselves were able to burst through the thick armor and deal devastating damage to the sound ninja. As Kidomaru fell to the ground, Neji took a few steps back to regain his composure. He walked over to Tenten slowly, his back aflame with pain and blood. He slowly pulled the blades out, not wanting to startle her when she awoken.

"Tenten wake up." Neji said softly as he shook her awake.

"N-Neji-kun?" Tenten said as her eyes opened. She suddenly snapped fully awake and noticed her still bound state, as well as the blood coming out of Neji's mouth.

"Neji-kun! What happened to you?!" She cried out in alarm.

"Don't worry Ten-chan, I just had a bit of trouble sending your captor to hell where he belonged." He said with a smirk.

"My captor? You mean that Anbu guy that attacked me?" She asked in confusion, though she did take notice to his reference of Ten-chan.

"Not a real anbu but one of Orochimaru's ninja. Don't worry he won't be able to hurt you anymore." Neji said softly as he fell to his knees in exhaustion. Using so many high powered jutsu in such a short amount of time had racked havoc on his chakra reserves.

"You're hurt." Tenten said softly as she raised her bound hands to touch his face.

"I'll be alright as long as you're okay." He said with a smile.

"Neji-kun." She said softly.

"Yes Ten-chan?" he asked soflty as well.

"Could you please get these ropes off of me?" She said with a twitch above her eye.

"Sorry." He said in embarrassment as he cut the ropes binding her hands.

Tenten rubbed her wrists for a moment before she pulled him forward for a kiss. Neji's eyes widened for a moment before he closed them and simply enjoyed the feel of her lips on his.

"This is all so very sweet." came the mocking voice of Kidomaru.

Neji turned in surprise and gave a grunt of surprise and pain as he felt something pierce his body. He looked down and saw a long gold colored arrow protruding from his gut. He coughed up a large amount of blood as he fell to his knees.

"NEJI-KUN!" Tenten yelled in anguish.

"Quiet girl, you'll soon be joining him. I have orders that neither of you are to leave here alive." Kidomaru said. The sound ninja had changed, like Jirobo, he was able to gain the second stage of the curse make. His skin was now a dark brown, his hair was wild and his eyes were exactly the same as Jirobo's had been. The strangest feature of his transformation, however, was that he had a third eye on his forehead. He was holding a large bow made of the same hardened webbing as his other weapons.

"I'm surprised that he was able to force me to go this far just to defeat him. He truly is a powerful ninja. Too bad he has to die." Kidomaru said with a sneer.

"You won't touch him!" Tenten shouted as she pulled out a scroll. She was very lucky that he hadn't searched her thoroughly enough when she had been captured.

However, as she attempted to unseal a weapon, Kidomaru was instantly in front of her. He grabbed her hand and broke her wrist. She screamed in pain as she dropped her scroll.

"There will be none of that!" He said as he backhanded her across the face. She fell to the ground, teetering on the edge of consciousness.

Kidomaru, currently satisfied that she was no longer a problem, turned to finish off Neji. He was shocked to see that the Hyuga was slowly rising to his feet, despite the large arrow logged in his gut.

"You don't know when to stay down do you kid?" Kidomaru said with a sigh as he walked over to Neji. He grabbed the young ninja by his long hair and hauled him to his feet.

"Just give uak!" Kidomaru said with a cry of pain as he released Neji. Neji had been able to drive one of his broad swords into Kidomaru's chest. He had unfortunately missed his heart, but he was sure that he had pierced a lung.

"You brat!" Kidomaru yelled as he pulled the sword out and threw it at Neji. Neji was able to duck, but not quickly enough to escape unscathed. The tip of the sword cut him along the temple, causing his head band to fall to the ground.

"Why won't you just give up and die?!" Kidomaru yelled as he pressed his hand to the wound.

"I can't die yet. I refuse to die as long as you are a threat to Ten-chan. Also, I have unfinished business with my clan. I have mistakes to make up for and I won't die until they have been corrected!" Neji yelled as he rushed in to attack. His body was screaming in agony, but he refused to stop. He forced himself to approach Kidomaru and slashed towards the sound ninja's head. Kidomaru ducked, but forgot that Neji's other hand was free of the sword.

Neji let loose a battle cry and slammed his hand into Kidomaru's leg. Kidomaru fell to one knee in a shout of pain. Neji slashed hoping to decapitate his enemy. Kidomaru was able to use a burst of chakra to jump into a tree. He then opened his mouth and pulled out another arrow. This one had a special drill like head that would devastate anything it went through. There was also a single strange of webbing at the very end, which would allow Kidomaru to guide the arrow around obstacles.

"That won't work! I can still see you and I assure you that you won't be able to hit me with that." Neji said. He had just enough chakra left to use a kaiten if the situation called for it.

"I guess you're right. Well then let's see if I can't find a better target!" Kidomaru shouted as he turned his drawn bow towards Tenten.

Neji's eyes widened as Kidomaru let the arrow fly. Neji couldn't recall when he began to move, but he suddenly found himself quickly approaching Tenten. She was still disoriented from the earlier blow and wouldn't be able to react in time.

'I won't let her die!' Neji thought as he remembered her father's words.

'_Bring her back Neji.'_

'I won't fail her!' He shouted to himself.

Tenten looked up and saw Neji in front of her. Her vision was slightly blurred but she was happy to see him on his feet.

"Neji-kun are you alright?" She asked as her vision began to clear up.

"Don't worry about me Tenten." He said softly.

Tenten's vision cleared and her eyes bore witness to a sight that left her speechless. Neji had a large hole right where his left lung should be. There was a small white line of webbing that went through the hole and into the tree behind her. She looked back and saw a huge crater on the other side of the tree. The arrow that Kidomaru had fired was stuck in the center of the crater.

"As long as you're safe, I am content." Neji said softly as he grabbed the web that was through his chest. He sent a burst of chakra through the webbing that traveled all the way back to Kidomaru. Not knowing that his attack had been counted, the sound ninja suddenly felt the foreign chakra infiltrate his system and heavily damage his internal organs. Kidomaru fell from the branch with a strangled cry of pain and landed on his back.

'I can't believe that I was tricked by a kid.' He thought as he tried and failed to make his body move. He looked up and found himself staring into the tear filled eyes of Tenten. Without saying a word, she lifted up one of Neji's broad swords. She stabbed the blade into his chest, piercing his heart and killing him instantly.

Tenten spared him not another look as she ran back and grabbed Neji's falling body. How he had remained standing, she would never know.

"Neji-kun, please not like this. Not like this." She said softly as her tears fell down her face.

"It's okay Ten-chan. I am just happy that I was able to protect you. All my life I have held hatred, anger, bitterness, and sorrow in my heart. However, once I met you I learned what it meant to have a friend and then I learned what it meant to truly have someone whose life was far more important than mine. I love you Ten-chan. I am so sorry that it took me so long to say it." He said as he closed his eyes and his breathing began to slow down.

"Neji-kun don't you dare die! How could you even think about telling me that you love me only for me to lose you? I've loved you for so long Neji-kun. Please don't leave me, not now." She said as tears ran down her face. She felt her heart shatter and could only hold him and his time on earth grew shorter and shorter by the passing minute.

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**Here's chapter 41! Two fights down and four more to go. What will happen next? Well that is a secret. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

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Shikamaru observed his opponent with a critical eye. He was going through several scenarios on how to begin this confrontation.

"If you're not going to start this fight, then I will!" The ninja yelled out as she pulled off her robe and removed her mask. She gave long red hair, a cap on her head, and purple rope that wrapped around her waist.

"The name's Tayuya of the sound five, Orochimaru's personal guard." Tayuya proclaimed as she pulled out a flute.

"A flute? What do you plan to do with that?" Shikamaru asked in a bored tone.

"You'll see wise guy!" Tayuya said with a malicious smile as she began to play her flute. Shikamaru's eyes widened as his vision began to distort.

"**Demonic Flute: Dream Sound Chain.**" Shikamaru heard echo around him.

Shikamaru found himself in a long room filled with bones. He attempted to move his hands but found that they were bound by wires that were hanging from the ceiling of the room. He soon felt intense heat spread through his body and he witnessed his flesh beginning to melt away from his bones.

"How do you like my special genjutsu?" Tayuya's voice asked with a dark tone.

"It's about as troublesome as you are." Shikamaru responded in a strained tone as he closed his eyes.

Tayuya walked over to the still form of Shikamaru, believing that he had been subdued.

"And to think, they thought you would be a challenge." Tayuya said in a dismissive tone as she pulled out a kunai and threw it towards Shikamaru. She was surprised when he suddenly moved to the side to avoid the blow and his shadow extended towards her.

"You shouldn't believe everything you see." Shikamaru said calmly as he directed his shadow to chase down the currently fleeing sound ninja.

"You shouldn't be so quick to underestimate me!" Tayuya yelled as she threw a small ball into the air. It erupted in a bright flash of light, canceling Shikamaru's attack.

'A flash grenade, pretty smart of her.' He thought as he vision cleared and he looked around for her. He looked down towards his hand. He had been forced to break his pinky finger to escape that genjutsu.

'Where did she go?' He thought as he searched the clearing for the sound ninja.

He suddenly heard the sound of her flute again. He placed his hands in the seal needed to dispel a genjutsu, however he found that none of his senses were being affected.

'Not a genjutsu then.' He thought as he closed his eyes. He didn't know what she was up to, but he didn't want to let her complete her plan. He needed to find out where she was and then stop her.

'I could really use a wide range attack right now.' Shikamaru thought as he pulled out a kunai and threw it in the air. It cut the rope that was holding Temari and she fell towards the ground. He swiftly grabbed her and settled her onto a tree. He prepared to cut her binds quickly and free her. He gave her a brief smile of affection as he was about to free her.

"**Summoning Jutsu!**"

Shikamaru and Temari turned and saw three large figures appear before them. One had long hair that hid its face and a large war club. The second had bandages over its eyes and a claw like weapon on its arms. The last was the strangest of the three as its upper torso and head were completely wrapped in bandages. Tayuya stood on the branch above these three monsters with black markings spread across her skin.

'That looks like the same seal that Sasuke had in the forest of death. Orochimaru must be behind these kidnapping, but why?' Shikamaru thought.

"How do you like me Doki? These beasts will be the death of you. However, your loud mouth girlfriend behind you has another use for my master." Tayuya said with a grin as she brought her flute to her lips.

"Run!" Shikamaru yelled to Temari as he cut the rest of the ropes binding her.

"No way! You really think that I'm just going to run away?!" Temari asked in a tone that let Shikamaru know that that was the furthest thing from happening.

"You don't have any weapons on you at the moment and she isn't trying to kill you. Get away and bring back up if you can." Shikamaru said in a tone that left no room for argument. So forceful was it that Temari couldn't believe that Shikamaru had been the one to say it.

Not giving her anymore time to argue, Shikamaru jumped away from the branch they were on. He had a hunch that the Doki would attack him and not her. He was correct as Tayuya instantly turned the Doki to take down the only one she considered a threat. Without her weapons, Tayuya determined Temari to be helpless.

Shikamaru jumped up to avoid the swinging war club from one of the Doki. He came face to face with the claw wielding summon and spun to avoid taking a slash to the side. The last Doki appeared as Shikamaru was about to land and slammed its massive head into the genin's chest. With a cry of pain he was thrown back into a tree trunk. He quickly pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground. He jumped into the foliage to avoid detection as he closed his eyes and thought of a plan. He was fully prepared to fight a genjutsu expert, but with the addition of the three large summonses, he needed a moment to collect himself and think up a plan. He put his hands in his signature seal and thought of what he could do.

'Where is he?' Tayuya thought in annoyance as she continued to play her flute.

Shikamaru finished his thoughts and readied himself. It wasn't going to be easy, but it was the best thing he could think of.

'Here goes everything.' He thought as he threw a flash grenade of his own into the air. It erupted in a blinding flash of light that temporarily blinded Tayuya. She was so surprised that she stopped playing her flute for a moment; however, this was exactly what Shikamaru needed. He immediately pulled out two distinct weapons from his pockets. They were trench knives; exactly like the ones his sensei Asuma used. He was unsure as to why he had taken an interest in them, but he soon found that they provided a great many avenues of use for him. He charged the knives with chakra and then threw them at the Doki. Tayuya regained her sight in time to see the strange weapons heading towards her beasts. She was worried until she saw that they missed the Doki completely and landed behind the bandaged one and the one with the claw. Unperturbed, Shikamaru immediately captured the club wielding summon in his shadow possession technique.

"Ha! What good is that going to do you?!" She asked with a laugh. She began to play her flute again and prepared to have her remaining two beasts attack him. She had been briefed on his shadow possession technique and knew not to fall for it. She may have lost one of her doki, but the other two were still hers to command.

"What's going on?! Move you two stupid beasts!" Tayuya yelled as her remaining summons failed to move.

"They won't be going anywhere." Shikamaru said with a smirk as he raced towards her. He had her doki follow and when he was close enough; he swung his hand down, forcing the monster to swing its arm that held the war club. Tayuya quickly jumped out of the way, only to get hit in the back and slammed through a tree.

Shikamaru looked down at her raising form and quickly had the doki slam her back into the ground. He struck again and again, wanting to ensure that she wouldn't get up. He felt a raw anger coarse through him when he thought about what she had down to Temari. True the sand ninja had not been harmed, but the fact that she had kidnapped her and that Orochimaru had plans for her were enough to incur his rage.

"You won't be using any of your beasts for a while. The other two are bound by my trench knives. When they strike the shadow of my opponent, they are instantly immobilized as long as my knives hold my chakra in them." Shikamaru explained. It was a trick he had learned as he had been learning to wield the knives.

"Heh you're a lot stronger than I thought you piece of crap. But that still won't save you. You'll die here!" Tayuya cried out as she slowly got to her feet. It was obvious that she had taken quite a bit of damage and didn't at all seem to be a threat.

"Your summons are captured and you are alone and injured, what do you plan to do?" Shikamaru asked in his normally bored tone. The only reason he was even conversing with her is because he was deciding whether or not he wanted her death to be slow and painful or quick and painful.

"You should know better than to underestimate an opponent your little leaf brat!" She yelled out as the marking on her body began to spread over her body. Soon she had changed into a new form. Her skin was a dark brown, her cap had fallen off and revealed horns coming from her head. Her eyes were exactly the same and both Jirobo and Kidomaru.

"You should also know that they don't have to move to be dangerous." She said as she rose to her feet and began to play her flute. All three Doki opened their mouths as long worm like objects appeared. They were blue and had mouths over their expanses.

"I would avoid them if I were you." She said with a cruel smile as the three worm like beasts attacked Shikamaru. He swiftly released the third doki from his control and jumped to avoid the new threats. However, the spirit worm that came from the closest doki was able to attack him before he could escape. He was shocked to see it take a bite out of his chakra itself.

'What the?!' Shikamaru thought in surprise.

"Did I fail to mention that they eat physical energy? My mistake." Tayuya said quickly as she went back to playing her flute. The worms once again attacked Shikamaru.

'Not good. I certainly didn't account for this!' He thought in annoyance as he felt his strength decline. The only good thing to come from this current predicament was that it seemed her doki couldn't move while the worms were coming out of their bodies.

'I need a new plan!' Shikamaru thought as the three beasts closed in on him. Suddenly Shikamaru found himself surrounded by the beasts. Before he could escape, all three bit into him and drained him of a significant amount of his energy. He fell to his knees in weakness and cried out in pain.

'It's over for him!' Tayuya thought before she was forced to stop her attack courtesy of a fist to her face. In her second form, the blow really didn't hurt her, though it did stun her for a moment. She turned and found herself staring at Temari.

"Temari? What are you doing I told you to leave." Shikamaru yelled out in fear and anger. Why did she have to be so stubborn?

"And since when do I ever listen to you Shika-kun? I've got business with this girl." Temari said with a smirk.

"Ha you think you can do anything against me? You don't have anything to hurt me with." Tayuya taunted.

"You're not the only one that has a secret to share! **Summoning Jutsu**!" Temari yelled out as she slammed her palm into the trunk of a tree. A weasel suddenly appeared, holding a large sickle that was larger than its body.

"Temari, where's your fan? You know I can't use my most powerful attack, the quick beheading dance, without it." He summoned beast told her.

"I'm aware of that, Kamatari. However, we'll have to make do." She replied back.

"I'm not afraid of some little rat!" tayuya said with a snarl as she pulled out her flute to begin to play once again.

"What did you call me?!" Kamatari shouted in rage.

"Attack Kamatari!" Temari commanded.

Kamatari began to spin and a large wind began to pick up. Soon he was in the center of a large tornado. The tornado flew towards Tayuya and before the sound ninja could react, she was caught in the tornado and blown away. With a growl of rage, Tayuya plaid one last note of her flute. The worms turned and raced towards Temari.

Temari jumped to escape, but was unable to avoid the worms biting at her legs. She soon lost all feeling in her lower body and landed hard onto the ground. As soon as the tornado subsided, Kamatari vanished. Temari was still new to summoning and was only able to keep Kamatari in the physical realm for one attack. She only wished that she had her fan. Their ultimate attack would have leveled the forest as well as that red haired pain in the butt.

"Temari!" Shikamaru yelled as he landed beside her. He rolled her onto her back and gently raised her to rest against the trunk of a tree. He gently raised her head to look at him and smiled as her eyes opened and she stared back at him with those teal colored eyes that he secretly loved.

"You can't let me do anything right can you?" Shikamaru said with an exasperated tone, though he had a smile on her face.

"What are you talking about Shika-kun?" She asked in a tired voice. Most of her energy had just been ripped from her body. She had hoped for more gratitude.

"It's the man's job to save the woman. You always make things so complicated." He said gently.

"Well someone has to be there to whip you into shape. If not for me or your mom you would probably watch clouds all day." Temari teased back with a smile. She couldn't help but smile when she and Shikamaru began to match wits, even over something like this.

"Most likely. You really are troublesome, Mari-chan." He said softly as he leaned down and kissed her.

Temari sighed into the kiss and allowed her weary body to relax in the arms of the boy she was swiftly falling for.

"You two make me sick!"

Both of the ninja looked up to see Tayuya running towards them. She had a kunai in her hands and seemed determined to end them immediately. Her flute and been destroyed and thus her doki were useless. She had been badly hurt by that last attack but it had not been enough to finish her off. She knew that neither of the two ninja had much energy left and she was determined to finish the boy off and get the girl back to Danzo, though she would gladly rough her up a bit before that. Shikamaru stood to his feet swiftly and placed his hands in a new seal as Tayuya thrust her kunai towards his chest.

"**Shadow possession!**" He yelled out as he grabbed her hand. At such close quarters, Tayuya had no chance of escaping.

"What do you plan to do now?" Tayuya asked in anger. She had been caught, but Shikamaru was in no position to move as he found that her arm was still applying force towards his chest. Shikamaru grunted in annoyance. His chakrk was so low that his technique was weakening swiftly. He had to act quickly before he lost too much and the technique was canceled.

"**Shadow Neck Bind Jutsu!**" He cried out as the shadow connecting them began to wind itself around Tayuya's body. It climbed towards her neck and slowly began to close. He was very glad that he had learned such a technique from his father after the invasion.

'No way am I going to be killed by someone like him!" Tayuya shouted to herself as she put all of her strength into resisting the attack and pressing forward. It appeared that the hands clutching her throat was controlled by his physical body as well as his chakra. She put all of her strength into her arm and slowly began to push towards his chest. The shadow hands on her throat began to recede slightly.

'This is not good! I'm losing chakra too fast! I won't be able to strangle her at this rate. Also, if I try to escape, she'll immediately kill me with her kunai before I can move away. What do I do?! I can't lose here! I have never really put much effort into anything in my life. All I ever really wanted was to live a mediocre life as a ninja. I would meet a woman that's neither very pretty nor ugly. I would have two children; a boy and then a girl. My son would become a ninja and my daughter would find a good husband. That was my dream.' Shikamaru thought as his gaze fell onto Temari, who currently had a frozen look of fear on her face. She was afraid he would die and in her eyes he saw just how much she cared for him.

'However, things changed when I met Temari. She's much more beautiful than any other woman I could ever think of. She's bossy, pushy, and is the only woman other than my mother that could get me to do anything. I'll never allow her to fall into the hands of Orochimaru, even if it means my death!' Shikamaru thought as he made his decision. He canceled the shadow neck bind. Tayuya instantly struck him in the chest with the kunai, sinking the blade all the way to the hilt into him.

"Shikamaru!" Temari cried out in horror.

"You've got yourself to worry about girl." Tayuya said as she was about to release the knife. However, a hand shot up and gripped her arm.

"What?" Tayuya said as she looked to Shikamaru.

"**Shadow Sewing Jutsu.**" Shikamaru said softly.

Tayuya grunted in surprise and pain as numerous spikes pierced through her body. She slowly returned to her normal form as she fell to the earth. The last thought she had before everything went black was to wonder how Shikamaru had been able to do that.

Shikamaru looked down at Tayuya's still from and fell to his knees. He coughed up blood as he contemplated his desperation move. He knew that he had a second at the most from when he canceled his technique to when Tayuya would strike him. Knowing this, he had used his shadow hands to subtly shift Tayuya's arm so that when he released his technique, her blow would not catch him in the heart and kill him straight away. He then used the last of his chakra to use the latest technique he had learned from his father. The shadow sewing technique allowed him to make his shadow split into multiple spikes to impale an opponent.

'A shame I couldn't use it along with the shadow neck bind.' Shikamaru thought as he fell to land on his side.

"Shika-kun! Shika-kun! Don't you dare die on me!" Temari shouted as he dragged her body towards him. She still couldn't feel her legs at all and was forced to use her arms to drag herself towards him. She reached him and grasped his hand. She began to feel her own body shut down on her from exhaustion. She had used a lot of her chakra summoning Kamatari and having a majority of it taken away by those spirit worms was too much for her body to remain conscious.

"You better hold on Shika-kun. I'll bring you back to life and kill you myself if you dare die on me. Who told you to try and play hero anyway?" She said softly as tears began to fall from her eyes.

Shikamaru looked at her with a sad smile on his face as he used the last of his energy to give her hand a squeeze.

"You are truly a troublesome woman Mari-chan. But you're my troublesome woman." He said softly as he eyes began to close. His body was failing on him and for the first time Shikamaru desperately wanted to fight the sleep that his body was pulling him towards, knowing that it would be one he would never awaken from and that he would never see Temari again should he succumb to it.

'Heh, never thought I would pass up sleep for a woman. Must be because I'm in love.' Shikamaru thought as his eyes closed and his ears became deaf to the pleading cries of Temari.

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"**Konoha Senpu!**"

Rock Lee kicked his opponent in the chest and began to spin to land the following blows. His opponent, who had revealed himself to be Kimimaro of the sound five, blocked with the strange white swords he had created. Kimimaro wore a shirt that showed the curse seal on his chest. He had short gray hair and twin red dots on his forehead.

"You are very powerful. However, strength alone will not be enough." Kimimaro stated as he rushed towards Lee to initiate an attack of his own.

"**Dance of Camellia.**" Kimimaro said calmly as he moved with a burst of speed towards Lee.

Rock Lee suddenly found himself having to go on the defensive to avoid the swift slashes and stabs being sent his way. He could do nothing but stay ahead of his opponent. Kimimaro was the most powerful of the sound five for a reason. No opponent had been able to avoid this attack.

'I must do something!' Lee thought as he ducked to avoid a slash to his head. Kimimaro brought his second sword up, hoping to catch the speedy ninja. Lee did a quick back flip, though he did receive a small cut to his chest.

'I have no choice. I am simply not fast enough yet!' Lee thought as he quickly grabbed his leg warmers and released the weights they hid. Lee jumped into the air, and just as he had done with Gaara, kicked four metal weight rods towards Kimimaro.

The sound ninja was taken by surprise by this move and raised his swords to block. He was not expecting his swords to crack under the immense pressure being placed on them when the rods smashed into them. His momentum was halted and he actually found himself being forced back from the sheer force behind the metal rods.

"Now I can move much better. Prepare yourself!" Lee shouted as he seemingly disappeared.

Kimimaro looked around and his eyes widened when Lee appeared behind him. Lee kicked him in the head and quickly ran to punch Kimimaro in the chest. As he attempted to follow up with a knee to the chest, Kimimaro struck. Lee's increased speed gave him an edge against Kimimaro but the leader of the sound five was not so easily beaten. His curse seal glowed for a moment before he slashed behind him and caught Lee on his arm. Lee jumped back quickly and looked at his wound in surprise.

'I have yet to face an opponent that could keep up with my increased speed. His is truly fearsome, however, I will never stop until he pays for what he had done to Sakura-chan!' Lee said with fire in his eyes. He ran and grabbed the four bars and connected them. He was once again wielding his four foot long staff. He knew that he would need it against Kimimaro.

"You are powerful, but that will not stop me from making you pay for what you have done!" Lee yelled as he attacked. Kimimaro ran forward as well as they clashed. Lee blocked one sword with his staff and quickly ducked to avoid the blow from the second sword. He then kicked Kimimaro's legs out from underneath him and slammed his sword down towards his chest. Kimimaro put both of his swords up to block the blow. His back cracked the earth because of the power being the blow.

'He is quite powerful. He obviously cares deeply for the girl.' Kimimaro thought as he spun to his feet and attempted to stab Lee in the chest.

Lee turned the blow away with his sword but took a glancing blow to his thigh. He retaliated by slamming Kimimaro in the side with his staff and kicking him in the head. The sound ninja quickly regained his composure and jumped above the blow that Lee sent towards his midsection. He slashed Lee in the back, and blocked the follow up blow with his swords. He was thrown back by the power and looked at his swords. They had numerous cracks on them from the intense punishment they were being treated to. Lee, despite his pain, seemed to notice this as well as he renewed his attack. His blows came faster and faster as he slammed blow after blow into Kimimaro's defense. Suddenly Kimimaro's swords broke under the pressure and Lee slammed the staff into Kimimaro's head. The sound ninja was stunned from the blow and was unable to avoid the kick to the chin that sent him flying into the air. Lee dropped his staff and jumped into the air. He appeared behind Kimimaro and wrapped the sound ninja in his bandages.

"Take this, **Primary Lotus!**" Lee shouted as they began to spin and approached the ground. Right before they hit the ground, Lee felt intense pain erupt from his hands, legs and side. He was still able to slam Kimimaro in the ground, but the force behind the attack was lessened.

Lee looked at himself and saw multiple puncture wounds littering his body. None were terribly deep but they all hurt a good deal.

'What happened?' Lee thought as he looked at the crater that his attack had made. He saw the form of Kimimaro walking towards him, seemingly unharmed. His curse seal had spread a bit to cover his chest. What shocked Lee was the number of sharp white bones that were sticking out of his body.

"This is my bloodline, the Dead Bone Pulse." Kimimaro said calmly.

"I have never heard of such a bloodline." Lee responded as he quickly retrieved his staff. He was trying to regroup and regain his strength. His opponent didn't seem to be taking any threatening moves as of yet and thus he was going to take that reprieve to rest up. His initial lotus still took a lot out of him.

"I am not surprised. I am the last of my clan as the rest have long since departed from this world. My dead bone pulse allows me to control every bone in my body. I can make them as hard as steel or as flexible as a whip." Kimimaro stated as he held his hands out and two long white bones that were the shapes of swords slowly extended from his palms. Sharp bones also extended from his shoulders, knees and elbows.

"Behold, **Dance of the Willow**." Kimimaro stated as he rushed in to attack.

Lee was instantly placed on the defensive once again. Kimimaro was using very intricate, acrobatic moves that forced Lee to focus solely on defense. Lee was still slightly drained from his primary lotus and was receiving numerous wounds. He attempted to counterattack, but Kimimaro gave him no room to do so. He knew that Lee's staff requited a certain amount of distance to be used effectively, thus he simply stayed close to him. Lee was blocking more and more blows that were coming at faster rates as time wore on.

'I must do something!' Lee thought as he took a deep slash to his right arm. With a cry of pain he leapt back in an attempt to create space to maneuver. Kimimaro was not going to allow his opponent to escape, however. He raised his hands with his fingers pointed towards lee.

"**Drilling Finger Bullets.**"

Lee's eyes widened when he saw a white projectiles launch from each of Kimimaro's fingertips. He dodged as best as he could, though one delivered a significant wound to his thigh. Kimimaro was silently impressed with Lee's tenacity and strength; however he knew that he didn't have an unlimited time frame with which to defeat the genin. Even now, Kimimaro felt the illness he had developed over the years attack his lungs. He brought a hand up to his mouth as he began to cough violently. He knew that his time was short and that there was no cure for this illness. Kabuto had told him this before he had even agreed to participate in the mission to infiltrate the leaf village and capture the young female ninja.

Kimimaro owed everything to Orochimaru. He came from the mist village and from a young age, he knew nothing of affection or purpose. His father, who was the clan head, feared his power and locked him in a cage until he was brought out to fight. He often wondered if that was his only purpose, but he found that unlike the rest of his family, he took no enjoyment in battle and killing. So large was his families lust for battle that they had actually rebelled against the mist village for no other reason than to enjoy a fight. He had been unleashed for the fight and killed many mist ninja, despite his young age. He soon found that he was the only one left alive from his clan. The others had been slaughtered. He escaped the mist village and wondered the country side, searching for a purpose to live.

He was soon found by Orochimaru, who proceeded to give him his purpose. He became devoted to Orochimaru and gave an oath to help him achieve his ideals. He had hoped that Orochimaru would take his body as a vessel, but his illness had made that impossible. He had been depressed until Kabuto had told him about their plot to kidnap a certain few of the leaf ninja. Knowing that this was his chance to redeem himself, he demanded that he be allowed to perform one last service to Orochimaru.

'Orochimaru-sama, I will give my life for you to realize your ambition.' Kimimaro thought as he stopped coughing and stared as his hand. There was blood present and he knew that he needed to finish his mission. It was a very simple one. Kill whoever attempted to rescue the girl and then kill her. He turned to Sakura's prone body and fired his finger bullets at her body, knowing full well what Lee would do.

Lee was surprised when his opponent began coughing violently. However, he took this time to rest and regain his composure. He was taking far too much damage, while his opponent seemed more troubled by his cough then any of the glancing blows that Lee had given him. Lee suddenly had the thought that if he could control his bones then Kimimaro was most likely hardening his bones throughout his body when they clashed. Lee's style was based upon breaking bones, raising contusions, and destroying an opponent's body though the use of raw physical strength. However, breaking Kimimaro would require that he hit him with his full strength multiple times to even crack the bones in his body, which Kimimaro could probably heal the minute they cracked or broke.

'My style will not be enough. I need something more to be victorious. I wonder if I will have to resort to using _it_.' Lee thought as he saw Kimimaro look at his hand and suddenly turn towards Sakura's body. Lee's heart froze for a moment when he saw Kimimaro hold his hands out towards Sakura's body.

'NO! He will not touch her!' Lee thought as he used his speed to place himself between Sakura and the incoming projectiles. Lee grunted in pain as he felt the ten, bullet sized bones slam into his body.

Sakura slowly awoke with a pounding headache. She was confused for only a moment before she remembered what had happened. She had been attacked by an anbu. She noticed a shadow over her body and looked up in surprise to see Lee.

"Lee-kun?" She said in confusion.

"Are you alright Sakura-chan?" He replied softly as he coughed up a bit of blood.

"Lee-kun! What happened? What's wrong?" She asked in concern. She tried to move but was unable to because of the binds still holding her hands and feet together. She could see that Lee was badly hurt. His body was a mass of slashes, cuts and puncture wounds. Throughout it all, however, she noticed that his eyes still held the same fire and determination that she found so endearing about him.

"Do not worry my flower princess. I will not loss this fight. As I promised I will defend you with my life." He said with a small smile as he turned to continue the battle.

Lee was surprised when Kimimaro appeared directly in front of him. Kimimaro slashed with his twin palm swords and sliced through Lee's staff. He then buried the bone that was sticking out of his knee into Lee's side and twisted to slam the elbow spike into Lee's shoulder.

"Lee-kun!" Sakura shouted out in fear and horror.

"You are a very powerful opponent, but this is where it ends." Kimimaro stated as he pulled his spikes out of Lee's body and kicked him in the chest. Lee flew back and slide along the ground in pain.

"Leave him alone! Stop hurting him!" Sakura shouted with tears in her eyes. She hated herself for a moment. If only she had been stronger than she wouldn't have been captured and Lee wouldn't be in a fight his life over her.

"I can tell that you care deeply for him. Do not worry about his inevitable death as you will join him soon enough." Kimimaro said simply. He truly didn't want to kill such a worthy opponent, especially when he only fought for the one he loved. However, he had to follow orders. He would kill Sakura quickly after he killed Lee. At least then they would be in the afterlife together. It was the only small amount of mercy that he could give them.

"You will do no such thing." Lee said as he struggled to get to his feet. His body was in intense pain, but he refused to stay down. Lee would never stop, nor would he rest until he defeated the foe before him. He was willing to ensure Sakura's continued safety no matter what the cost. Lee pulled a scroll out of his pouch and stared at it. He remembered when Gai-sensei had given it to him and told him to never open it unless he was sure that he was going to take the life of the opponent in front of him. Lee had never killed before nor did he ever feel the need to take a life. However, he knew that he had no other choice now.

Lee could not use chakra as his chakra coils were disfigured which made control over his chakra none existent. Thankfully, the scroll he held did not have a regular chakra seal on it. It had a blood seal. Gai had been kind enough to make it for him and told him he need only add a bit of his blood to the seal to unlock the weapon within the scroll.

He took a bit of the blood from his shoulder and placed it on the seal that rested on the scroll. Kimimaro, not willing to give Lee the time to recover, attacked swiftly. However, he was shocked when he saw the bone swords in his palms get sliced off with little difficulty. He looked up in time to take a slash across his chest. It was very deep and sliced through any bones that may have been in the way, despite the fact that he had been hardening all the bones in his body to be as hard as steel when he noticed that Lee's strength would turn them into powder if he didn't.

He jumped back in pain and held his hand over the vicious slash. He looked up and was surprised with what he saw. In Lee's hands was a naginata. The wooden pole was a dark jade green in color. There was a gold lion's head with its mouth open at the end of the pole. A long curved blade extended from the lion's mouth and there were flame designs that wound throughout the gleaming steel of the blade. Lee's eyes held a resolve that Kimimaro had rarely ever seen in another person. Lee had accepted that this may be his last battle, and his heart held no fear at this realization.

"**The third gate: gate of life open!**" Lee shouted as he began to open the eight chakra gates. His hair stood on end, his eyes disappeared, his skin took on a red color, and a bright gold chakra aura appeared around his body.

"I see. I have no choice then." Kimimaro stated as the curse seal on his body spread and he activated his second level. Kimimaro's skin took on a brownish-maroon color. He grew a tail and had a dinosaur like appearance. Several large bones extended from his back and down the length of his tail.

Lee looked at his transformed opponent as opened the fourth and fifth gate. He didn't care about the pain and wear that his body had been under. He felt none of this anymore. All he felt was immense power. He remembered when he last used this power. He had been unable to reclaim Sakura's honor from Gaara, but he refused to fail here. He knew that this time, failure would not only assure his death, but Sakura's as well.

"I will kill you, no matter how powerful you become. I will complete my mission and kill you and the girl. **Dance of Clematis: Vine.**" Kimimaro replied as he pulled his spine out of his body. He quickly regrew another and twirled his spine around like a whip.

"That will never happen! As long as there is breath in my body, you will never touch the one that I love!" Lee shouted as they raced towards each other. At this speed, Kimimaro couldn't see him, but his curse seal did give him the perception needed to react at the minute amount of time between when Lee appeared and when he attacked. However, this still made fighting Lee a daunting task.

Lee sliced off one of the bone like appendages that grew from Kimimaro's back. Kimimaro attempted to swipe at Lee with his tail, but the leaf ninja was able to avoid the attack. Lee appeared again and kicked Kimimaro in the face, launching the sound ninja backward. Lee attempted to capitalize, but didn't take into consideration just how quickly Kimimaro could shake off a blow. Kimimaro wrapped his whip around Lee's ankle and slammed the leaf ninja into the ground. He whipped Lee around and was about to slam him again. However, Lee sliced through the whip and regained his bearing. He attacked again and slashed Kimimaro in the arm, severing the limb. Kimimaro repaid the effort by releasing a bone spike from the stump of his arm and piercing Lee through the gut.

Lee jumped back and fell to his knees in a pant. He was burning through his power quickly. Releasing the gates when one had already been hurt took a great deal more strength and he would lose the power sooner. He had to finish the fight soon and cursed his broken body for moment, though he was happy that he had severely hurt his opponent. Kimimaro was also on his knees in pain and shock. He had never been as hurt as he was currently. He stared at his severed arm and knew that he had to finish the leaf ninja, now. However, Kimimaro felt agony in his chest and fell to the ground and began to cough up a large amount of blood. The curse seal speed up the virus killing him and he knew that he had mere minutes of life left.

"I will not die yet! I will complete my mission for lord Orochimaru-sama! **Dance of the Seeding Fern!**" Kimimaro shouted as long bone spikes shot up from the ground. They were as tall as trees and they spread out throughout the field.

Lee's eyes widened as the sea of spikes approached him. He turned and ran back to Sakura. He grabbed her and ran. He soon saw that he would not escape in time. He sliced through her binds and threw her with all of his strength into the air, away from the sea of approaching spikes. He then turned and used all of his strength, power and determination to slice, smash and break through the spikes approaching him. There were far too many to stop, but he continued to attack. His mind didn't react to the multiple slashes and stabs he was taking. His mind was focused on a single purpose and that was to hold off as best he could. When the sea surrounding him stopped, he held his arm out a grabbed Sakura before she hit the ground. He then placed her down and succumbed to his injuries.

"Lee-kun! Lee-kun!" Sakura yelled when Lee refused to respond. He had lost the power of the gates and was barely breathing. He was a mass of wounds and she couldn't believe that he was still alive.

"S-Sakura-chan." He said softly as he opened his eyes.

"Lee-kun! Please be alright! Please!" She cried out as tears freely feel from her eyes.

"It is alright my flower princess. As long as you are alright, I have completed my task and upheld my ninja way." He said softly with a smile.

"You can't die now! It's over! You won. You can't die now! Don't leave me!" She cried out as she attempted to stem the blood flowing out of his broken body.

Lee smiled at her and raised an arm to pull her to him. He kissed her with the strength he still held within himself and filled his nose with her beautiful scent.

'She always smells like fresh cut flowers.' He thought as he gazed into her tear filled eyes. Both froze when they heard a voice from behind her.

"**Dance of Clematis: Flower.**"

Lee, through sheer force of will, pulled Sakura out of the way as he grabbed his naginata.

Sakura was surprised by the voice that came behind her and was also surprised and confused when Lee pulled her forward. She fell face down into the earth and felt warm liquid fall onto her back. She swiftly got to her feet and turned to stare in horror at what her eyes showed her. Kimimaro had somehow been able to travel through the tall bone spikes and was merged with the one that had been directly behind her. His remaining arm was covered in a large bone like drill that oddly resembled a flower; however this is not what made her heart freeze in her chest. The tip of the drill was sticking out through Lee's back. Lee had pushed her out of the way and taken the blow directly to the chest.

"LEE-KUN!!" She shouted in pure horror as she stared at his body.

"I take no joy in killing him. Do not worry. I will kill you swiftly so that you may be together in the afterlife." Kimimaro said as he coughed up more blood. He had mere moments of life left. Thankfully, the girl was frozen in place and it seemed that her spirit had been broken. Kimimaro prepared to kill her as well. However, when he attempted to pull his drill out of Lee's body, a hand shot up and grabbed the drill tip.

"You…will….not touch…her!" Lee said as he raised his head and stared into Kimimaro's eyes.

'How is it possible?!' Kimimaro thought as Lee swung with his naginata and severed Kimimaro's head from his body.

Lee fell to the ground, dropping his weapon. Sakura broke out of her state of shock and rushed to his body. He pulled his head into her lap, not at all concerned about the blood staining her cloths and skin.

"Lee-kun, please." She said in a broken tone. She knew that not even Rock Lee had the power to survive the horrendous things that had been done to his body. He was dying, and they both knew it. That he was not dead already was nothing short of a miracle.

"I love you Sakura-chan. Never forget that." He said as his eyes closed.

"I love you to Lee-kun." She said with a broken smile as she attempted to comfort him. She felt as if someone had reached into her chest, grabbed her heart, and pulled it out very slowly.

"You are the strongest man I know. You are truly a splendid ninja Lee-kun." She said as she felt his breathing shorten.

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**Here's chapter 42. Next up is Kakashi's fight. Till then, Kyuubi123 out.**


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

**Sorry for the wait, but better late than never. Oh on a side note if you want very interesting Naruto story to read then check out "A Dark Influence" by MistressWinowyll.**

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"**Fire Style: Fire ball jutsu!**"

Kakashi watched as the fake anbu made no move to avoid the large ball of fire heading towards him. He and the tree that he was on were engulfed in the flames and Kakashi saw the cloak burning in the fire.

'Now where did he get to?' Kakashi thought as he looked around. He knew that his opponent wouldn't be so easily defeated, especially if he was able to capture Kurenai.

"That wasn't very nice. You really need to lighten up Hatake-san."

Kakashi turned and stared at his opponent. He was someone that Kakashi easily recognized, Kabuto Yakushi.

"So it's you. Orochimaru's right hand man." Kakashi said as his eyes narrowed.

"Guilty as charged." Kabuto said, his smirk never leaving his face.

"You really think you have what it takes to defeat me?" Kakashi said in an incredulous tone.

"You really should have your Hokage update her records. I am easily at your level Kakashi. If you think you're walking away from this fight alive, then you're sorely mistaken." Kabuto said as his hands took on a green glow.

'Chakra scalpels.' Kakashi thought as Kabuto attacked.

Kakashi was well aware of what those hands could do to him if he were to take a hit. He pulled out two kunai from his pouch and began to block and evade.

"Is this all the great Kakashi can do? It's a shame that someone like you is considered one of the strongest jonin in the leaf village. You're pretty girlfriend put up a better fight!" Kabuto said, attempting to throw Kakashi off guard.

Kakashi's eyes twitched in annoyance for only a moment before his struck. He ducked underneath Kabuto's next blow and kicked the sound ninja's legs out from underneath him. As Kabuto fell to the ground, Kakashi did an upward slash with his kunai, catching Kabuto across the face. Kakashi then stabbed his second kunai into Kabuto's chest, only to see the grey haired ninja turn into mud.

Kakashi pulled his kunai out of the ground and looked around. He was getting tired of this hide and seek game. He wanted to finish Kabuto quickly and find where he had hidden Kurenai.

"**Ninja art: Poison fog!**"

Kaksahi turned to see a large purple cloud of poison approaching. He swiftly ran through hand signs of his own.

"**Great breakthrough jutsu!**"

Kakashi unleashed the gale force winds and watched as the cloud completely dissipated. The attack was not finished however as it smashed into the surprised Kabuto and sent him hurtling into the thick woods.

"Kakashi!" Kakashi turned and saw Pakkun reappear.

"What is it Pakkun?" He asked curtly. He didn't want, nor could he afford, to lose his focus.

"I found her!" Pakkun responded.

"What?!" Kakashi said.

"I found Kurenai! She's.." Is as far as Pakkun got before a kunai flew and slammed into him causing him to disperse.

"Now, now, we wouldn't want him giving away the surprise would we?" Kabuto asked as he limped out of the tree line. He closed his eyes for a moment and Kakashi's sharingan eye showed that Kabuto's chakra was moving throughout his body in a strange way. The chakra was concentrating itself around specific parts of his body until it finally stopped and began to move normally. Kakashi saw the effect the chakra was having as Kabuto stood straighter and seemed completely healed of all his wounds.

"Interesting technique." Kakashi said shortly as he fell back into his battle stance.

"Why do you think that I am Orochimaru-sama's right hand man? He finds this ability very interesting." Kabuto said simply as he adjusted his glasses.

"I do wonder though." Kakashi said calmly.

"What's that?" Kabuto asked as he brought his glowing hands up in preparation for the coming fight.

"Can you regenerate a missing heart?" Kakashi said a clone grabbed Kabuto from behind. Kakashi rushed towards Kabuto as he charged his hand with lightening.

"**Lightening Blade!**"

Kabtuo made no move to avoid the lightening strike as it came within inches of his chest. Kakashi was surprised when his hand slammed into Kabuto's chest, but failed to penetrate. Something was halting his attack.

"No I can't, but that doesn't matter as you will never get the chance to hit it!" Kabuto yelled as he slammed his head into the clone behind him. He raised his arms and began to strike at Kakashi. Kakashi dodged as best he could, but the close combat was very precarious to him. He ducked underneath a strike, only to take a kick to the chin. He twisted and punched Kabuto in the face. Giving him time to back up and run through hand signs.

"**Lightening style: Lightening Hound!**" Kakashi yelled as a large canine shaped bolt of lightning rushed towards Kabuto. Kabuto jumped back, expecting the attack to be too draining to hold for long. Kakashi used his hand to command the hound to jump towards Kabuto, surprising the sound ninja. The hound bit into Kabuto's shoulder and he cried out from the volts being sent throughout his body. Not wanting to give him time to counter, Kakashi continued his attack.

"**Dragon Fire jutsu!**" He yelled as he unleashed a dragon shaped blast of fire towards the stunned ninja. Kakashi saw the dragon strike Kabuto and heard the outcry of pain from Orochimaru's top subordinate. Kakashi watched as his charred body fell to the ground.

"Very good Kakashi-san. You truly deserve your title as the greatest jonin in Konoha. However, you will have to do much better if you wish to defeat me!" Kabuto yelled as he somehow rose to his feet. His body began to slowly return to its prime state. The burns healed and he seemed none worse for the wear.

'No matter how much he may try to bluff, he is still operating on borrowed time. His chakra will eventually give out and once that happens, he'll be defenseless.' Kakashi thought without concern. As strong as Kabuto was, he was a short range fighter. As long as he could keep his distance, he would be fine. He was very surprised when Kabuto began to make hand signs.

"Staying far away won't be enough to save you! **Release!**" Kabuto shouted as a burst of purple chakra exploded from his body.

'What?!' Kakashi thought in confusion. He had only seen this chakra when Sasuke was under the influence of the curse seal. However, Kabuto's body had none of the strange black markings that were supposed to accompany the large influx of chakra.

"You look surprised. No I don't have the curse seal. You may not be aware but the curse seal is actually an enzyme. Orochimaru-sama was kind enough to instead inject me with a slightly modified version of it. While I am unable to change forms, the chakra increase is on par with that of those with a fully functional curse seal. It should be sufficient." Kabuto said with a smile as the vile purple chakra continued to swirl around him. He raised a hand and shot a surge of chakra towards Kakashi.

Kakashi jumped to the side to avoid the burst of chakra and was surprised when he felt his chest burning. He looked down and saw that his vest was beginning to smoke.

'Acid!' Kakashi thought as he ripped his vest off and threw it to the ground. It quickly dissolved on the forest floor.

'It barely grazed me at all and yet it still was enough to burn through me vest. I will have to be much more careful now.' He thought as he noticed that Kabuto was now focusing the chakra around his body. It pulsed around his form like a vile second skin and his smile was dark and malicious.

Kabuto wasted no more time and rushed towards Kakashi. He swiped at his head and when Kakashi dodged, he kicked his legs out from underneath him. Kakashi swiftly rolled to avoid the follow up palm thrust to the chest. He saw that Kabuto's hand was melting into the ground. He attempted to get to his feet and noticed that his legs were numb. He was slightly surprised that there wasn't a burning sensation.

He had no more time to reflect on the strange sensation when Kabuto appeared in front of him with a speed that his sharingan had trouble following. Kabuto punched Kakashi in the chest and Kakashi was thrown back. He attempted to rise to his feet and was alarmed to find that his body didn't react the way he commanded it to. His body would spasm whenever he attempted to move. Whenever he attempted to move a body part, he found that a different part would move instead.

"Do you like it? I like to call it the **Misfire Jutsu**. It causes the electrical signals being sent from the brain to the rest of the body to get mixed and sent to various other parts of the body. You'll find it very hard to even speak. Oh I saw your confusion earlier. I can control this chakra. I can make it the most corrosive acid on the earth or a numbing agent." Kabuto said with a smirk as he walked away for a moment to disappear into the trees. He came back with a bound Kurenai in his grip.

"You fight so hard for this women. That's foolish Kakashi. You should know that enemies will take advantage of anyone and anything they can in an attempt to defeat their opponent. The only way to live as a true ninja is to live without attachments. I would have thought that someone of your stature would have figured that out by now." Kabuto said in a condescending tone as he grabbed Kakashi's prone body and turned it over so that the copy ninja could watch him. He saw murder in Kakashi's eyes and it only delighted the demented shinobi all the more.

"My orders are to kill you and her. However, I think it a terrible crime to kill one so beautiful. I may as well have a bit of fun before I have to end such a lovely specimen. Don't you agree?" He asked after giving Kakashi a sick grin. He turned his back and walked over to Kurenai's prone form.

"You shouldn't have let your guard down!" Kakashi said softly from behind him.

Kabuto turned and was greeted with a slash that hit from his headband down the length of his chest. He felt the burn of electricity and swiftly jumped back with a cry of pain. His head band fell to the ground split in two pieces. The slash to his chest was already healing itself. He looked up and saw a heavily panting Kakashi with the fabled white charka fang in his hand. It was said that it once belonged to Kakashi's father and that it was able to channel lightening chakra. However, Kabuto had heard that it had been broken.

"You won't touch her again you piece of slime! **Lightening Style: Thunder Armor!**" Kakashi yelled as white lightening began to flow around his body.

'I'll have to end this quickly. I am still working the bugs out of this technique and combined with the sharingan, this technique will drain me of all of my chakra very soon.' He thought as he rushed to attack.

Kakashi was well aware of what was happening to his body once he had been struck by Kabuto's attack. While he was unable to avoid the blow, his eyes showed him what was about to happen. While Kabuto had been gloating over his perceived victory, he had been concentrating on placing his hand onto his body. All he needed was the barest touch and he would be free. Once he had the small amount of contact needed, he sent a jolt of electricity throughout his body.

The human body is a truly remarkable creation. It can survive quite a bit of abuse and damage. Kakashi had banked on the idea that he would be able to reboot his body with a surge of electricity to counteract the surge that Kabuto had used to disrupt it in the first place. It had taken a significant surge and he was feeling the after affects. His thunder armor was a new technique that he had created himself. It took a huge amount of his chakra to maintain, but that was worth it as it increased his strength and speed and also provided a variety of attacks that he knew would take Kabuto by surprise. As it was, combined with his sharingan, his thunder armor had already burned through half of his chakra.

Kakashi kicked Kabuto in the chest and followed up with a powerful upper cut. He spun and slashed Kabuto across his chest with his chakra fang sword. Though the sword was only about 12 inches in length, he was able to channel his lightening chakra through it to extend the blade.

Kabuto cried out tin pain. He hadn't at all believed that Kakashi would be able to do the amount of damage he was causing. His lightening chakra was protecting him against the dark purple chakra that was surrounding him. He didn't want to admit it, but the chakra was actually pretty taxing on his body. It accelerated his healing ability and gave him a large increase in strength and ability, but he couldn't keep it up if he took too many wounds. It would eventually give out.

'He shouldn't be this powerful. His techniques are much more powerful than I thought he was capable of creating.' He thought as he ran to attack as well.

They attacked once again and for a while there was only a flurry of attacks and counterattacks. They didn't speak as they allowed their fists to talk for them. Kabuto to a fist to the face as he kicked Kakashi in the chest he felt the sting of the lightening chakra as Kakashi gave a soft grunt at the feel of the dark chakra that had struck him. He felt the numbing agent kabuto was trying to use, but his continually sent electrical surges to his muscles, keeping them moving. Kakashi attempted to slash Kabuto in the leg, but the sound jonin jumped into the air and breathed a cloud of poison down towards Kakashi again. Kakashi pumped the lightening chakra into his legs and jumped back. He quickly righted himself and swung his blade. The blade channeled the chakra and a long blade of lightening slashed Kabuto in the air.

Kakashi rushed forward and delivered a spin kick to Kabuto's chest before he could get his bearings. He struck multiple times, never giving Kabuto time to rest. He could feel his chakra levels lowering drastically and knew that he wouldn't be able to keep his armor up for very long. He kicked Kabuto in the head. He slammed his fist into his chest. He stabbed Kabuto in the chest and his leg and finished with a slash to the eyes. Kabuto cried out in agony and concentrated his chakra to his hands. He slammed them into Kakashi's chest. He then sent a huge blast of chakra from them, blowing Kakashi back despite his armor.

Both were slow to get up. Kabuto found that his wounds were severe and had to use a majority of his chakra just to heal his body. However, he felt the beginnings of exhaustion grip his body. Despite being healed, it could only take so much abuse. He was breathing heavily as he turned to look at Kakashi.

Kakashi was little better. His body was very weak from the surge he had sent through it and the lightening armor was gone. He was breathing heavily, but still kept his sword in his hands and his eyes on his opponent. He refused to lose. He had lost far too much already and he would give up his life before he allowed another person he cared for to die.

'Obito, Rin, Minato-sensi, Father. I have lost all of you. I will not lose Kurenai, or anyone else precious to me!' He thought as he rushed Kabuto once again.

'Where is he getting this energy from?! He shouldn't be this powerful.' Kabuto thought as he was placed on the defensive. His body was growing very weary and soon he wouldn't be able to avoid the fast, swift blows from Kakashi.

'Looks like I'll have to use it.' Kabuto thought with a grimace. He really didn't want to resort to what he had planned.

Kabuto's thoughts cost him dearly as Kakashi found an opening and stabbed his sword into Kabuto's shoulder. Kabuto cried out at the pain as well as the electricity running through his body. Kakashi kicked him in the chest and followed up with a jutsu.

"**Earth style: Rock javelin!**" He cried out as Kabuto was hit with a multitude of sharp rock projectiles. Kabuto was thrown back by the force of the attack and slide along the ground.

Kakashi fell to a knee in exhaustion. He was using far too much charka too quickly. He figured that he had enough left for three lightening blades before he ran out of energy and collapsed. He put his blade away and swiftly ran through the signs. He rushed forward, looking to take care of Kabuto while he was distracted.

"**Lightening Blade!**" Kakashi cried out as he struck towards Kabuto's chest. Kabuto's gaze hardened and he swiftly pulled out a spear of some kind and brought it up in an attempt to block. Kakashi wasn't worried; nothing could take a direct blow from his lightening blade. Kakashi was surprised when he struck the spear, but his attack didn't penetrate. Kabuto parried with his staff and swiftly delivered an upwards slash that took Kakashi across the cheek. Kakashi jumped back to avoid a follow up attack and pulled out his chakra fang.

"You should feel honored to have brought me to the point where I would have to rely on this. How do you like my weapon of choice?" Kabuto said as he showed Kakashi his spear, it was long, stretching about six feet, which caused Kakashi to question how he hadn't noticed it sooner. It was jet black and Kakashi had a strange feeling that there was much more to it than what meets the eye. The fact that it had taken a direct strike from his lightening blade and yet there was not a mark on it was disconcerting.

Kabuto began to spin the spear in his hands, and the smile on his face was not very promising. However, Kakashi noticed that Kabuto's wounds were no longer healing. He now knew that his opponent was forced to forgo healing his wounds, else he would run out of chakra and be helpless.

Kabuto suddenly struck, but not in the way that Kakashi was expecting. Kabuto did not run forward to strike with his spear. He grabbed it at one end and suddenly the staff became lucid. Kabuto began to twirl the now whip like weapon in the air and whipped the end towards Kakashi. Kakashi jumped to the side, but not before seeing the very end of the weapon. It was a snake's head that had its mouth fully open, showing its venom laced fangs.

'What the?!' Kakashi thought as he noticed the living snake like weapon's head look at him with its slit eyes as Kabuto retracted the weapon. The weapon then slithered over his shoulders, showing that it was indeed a living snake.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I forget to mention that my weapon is actually a snake. It's my own invention. The first ever living weapon. It can become a whip, or a spear. Its poison has no known cure and I should know as I am the one that created it. Be very careful Kakashi for one bite will be your end." Kabuto said as he grabbed the serpent and began to whip it around again. He swung the weapon towards Kakashi once again. Kakashi jumped over the strike, only to see the snake come alive again and strike towards his foot. Kakashi spun in the air to avoid the blow and struck with his sword. The snake retracted swiftly.

'It didn't take the blow. It must only be impenetrable when in spear form.' Kakashi thought as he rushed towards Kabuto, not wanting to give him time to strike again. Kabuto gripped the living weapon by the center and the serpent became rigid again and resumed its spear form.

The two opponents once again clashed in a flurry of blocks and strikes. Kakashi was able to slash Kabuto across the chest, but received a stab wound to his lower leg. He ducked under the spear and did an upward strike that knocked the spear out of Kabuto's hand. Kakashi followed up with a sweeping kick that took Kabuto's legs out from underneath him. Kakashi turned and kicked Kabuto in the chest, sending him to slide along the ground. Kakashi soon felt something on his back. He realized that Kabuto had allowed his spear to be knocked into the air. The fully alive serpent coiled around Kakashi's body pinning the arm holding his sword to his side. Kakashi was able to swiftly grab the neck of the snake before the head could sink its fangs into his chest. As it was, he was immobilized. He couldn't use his sword arm and if he were to release his grip on the snake to pull his sword into his useable arm, the snake would bite him and then he would surely be in real trouble. Kabuto slowly got to his feet. He turned and smiled at the bound Kakashi.

"Hold on tight Kakashi. I would hate for you to be bitten." He said with a pant of exhaustion as the snake increased the pressure it was exerting on Kakashi's body. Kakashi was shocked that the snake was as powerful as it was. He could feel his bones straining under the immense pressure being exerted on them and knew he had to act fast.

"I won't allow my snake to have all of the fun Kakashi!" Kabuto yelled as his hands once again glowed green with his chakra scalpels. Kakashi could so little more than watch as Kabuto attempted to strike him with his deadly hands.

Both were surprised when Kabuto was kicked in the face. He swiftly picked himself off of the ground and looked to see Kurenai standing tall, with righteous fury in her eyes.

"Kurenai!" Kakashi called out in relief and surprise.

"Kakashi did you come all this way just to save me?" She asked with a teasing smirk.

"Well I really didn't have anything better to do. Besides you still owe me dinner." He responded in a strained tone. The snake was still increasing its strength.

Kurenai turned and regarded Kabuto. The sound ninja was almost as bad off as Kakashi was. He was panting with exhaustion and had numerous wounds all over his body from the punishment that Kakashi had put him through. She fell into a battle stance and prepared to fight him.

'This isn't good. Alone I know that I can easily defeat her. However, I am far from at my best. Fighting Kakashi took far too much out of me.' Kabuto thought as he tried to figure out how to defeat her.

Kurenai rushed forward and engaged Kabuto in hand to hand combat. She was still fighting off the after affects of whatever Kabuto had injected her with. The only reason she was free was that when pakkun found her, he had taken to opportunity to bite through her bounds just enough to weaken them to the point that she would be able to break them when she awoke. She was not at all dressed for combat as she was still dressed in the dress she wore to the festival. She had already kicked off her dress shoes and was fighting barefoot. Thankfully, her dress was small enough that it didn't restrict her movements. She kicked Kabuto in the head and swiftly grabbed his arm to follow up with a knee to the stomach. Kabuto attempted to strike her in the chest, but she was able to twist out of the way and avoid the blow. He was slow to bring himself back into his stance, and she was able to hit him three times in the face before he could react.

'I have to take her out now! After I kill Kakashi and incapacitate her, I'll teach her a lesson.' Kabuto thought as he jumped back and threw a smoke grenade.

Kakashi was very relieved that Kurenai was now back in action and helping him. However, he was still in a precarious position with the serpent that was dead set on either crushing him or poisoning him. He saw Kabuto throw the smoke grenade and knew that Kurenai was in danger. While she was still relatively at full strength, her genjutsu wouldn't work if she couldn't see Kabuto. All Kabuto needed was one single blow to incapacitate her.

'I need to get this snake off of me!' He thought as he attempted to out muscle the snake to no avail. He saw the fangs in full display and new that if he was bitten than he was done for, especially since he knew Kabuto wasn't bluffing about there being no cure.

However, he was truly out of ideas at the moment. He had only enough chakra for one more lightening blade before he was out of energy. He couldn't think of a way to disable the serpent as long as it was pinning one arm to his side and the second was focused on holding it back.

Kurenai took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She knew that Kabuto was a close range fighter and knew that at his present condition, he would be more likely to make a mistake. She sensed movement behind her and swiftly turned to attack. Her fist passed through Kabuto's face and she knew that he was a clone. Kabuto came up behind her, intending to attack, only to be met with a mule kick from Kurenai. She knew full well that the first Kabuto was most likely a distraction as she heard him far too easily. She also knew that the next move that an experienced opponent would take would be to attack in her blind spot. She turned to the downed Kabuto and gave a dark smirk.

"I plan to place you under the darkest genjutsu I have. It's been known to make those it's used on lose their minds." Kurenai said as he ran through the hands signs.

"Then you shouldn't be using it against a clone!" She heard from behind as she loss the feeling of her legs. She fell to the ground as Kabuto withdrew his glowing hands.

"I knew full well that you would see through my moves. Any experienced jonin would have thought and reacted the same way that you did, thus I showed you what you expected to see and took advantage of your lowered guard." Kabuto said simply with a smile. Kurenai looked at the down sound ninja and saw that it had already turned into mud.

"Now that the feeling from your legs has been cut off from your body, I'll deal with your boyfriend. Don't worry though, I'll be back soon." He said as he turned to finish off Kakashi.

"Don't turn your back on me! **Ninja Art: Hell's fury!**" Kurenai yelled as she caste her genjutsu onto Kabuto. While she couldn't move her legs, she could still see him, which was all that she needed to caste one of her most powerful genjutsu.

Kabuto should currently be experiencing his worst nightmare turned real. This technique was used to break even the mentally strongest captives during interrogation. It literally worked against the opponent's own mind to cause it to repeatedly torture them until their minds broke down or they died. However, Kabuto simply smiled at her and walked towards her. He pulled her up by her hair and stared into her surprised eyes.

"I was sent to capture you. Did you really think that they would send me unless I already knew all of your tricks and the best way to defeat them? Besides, one doesn't become the right hand man of Orochimaru-sama unless he learns to deal with his greatest fear." Kabuto said with a sick smile on his face as he threw her back to the ground. He would deal with her latter.

He turned towards Kakashi's bound form and smiled as he saw that his serpent was inches from overpowering the weakened jonin and killing him. However, Kabuto wanted to savor the moment of victory and slowly stalked towards Kakashi.

'I have to do something.' Kakashi thought even though he knew that he was fighting a losing battle. He wasn't able to do any hand signs, he was running very low on chakra, and Kabuto was coming to finish him.

'I refuse to let it end this way.' Kakashi thought as Kabuto came face to face with him and grabbed the white chakra fang from his restrained hand.

"Such an exquisite blade. I am surprised that you had it reforged. I was under the impression that you weren't one to let the past rest. Oh well, while I would love for my pet to be the end of you, I think that it would be much more fitting if your death came by the weapon of your own father." Kabuto said as he raised the blade high.

Kakashi made his decision. He released the snake's neck to grab the blade before Kabuto could stab him. The snake instantly sank its fangs into Kakashi's shoulder and he cried out in pain as the venom entered his blood stream.

"Die!" Kabuto shouted as he attempted to overpower Kakashi.

Kakashi sent a surge of chakra through his blade, causing it to extend and stab the snake through its head as well as piercing through his shoulder. Kabuto's eyes widened in surprise as Kakashi removed the now limp snake from his body and rushed toward Kabuto. He had to end the battle before the venom claimed his life.

"**Lightening Blade!**" He shouted as he thrust his hand towards Kabuto's chest. Kabuto, through sheer luck, was able to side step the blow and strike Kakashi in the chest, hitting his heart and instantly killing the copy ninja.

'Rin, Obito, Minato-sensei, forgive me.' Kakashi thought as he felt Kabuto strike him.

"KAKASHI!"

Kabuto looked down at the now dead jonin and smiled. He had done it! He had defeated the great Kakashi. He turned to look at Kurenai's teary, horror stricken face.

'And to the victory goes the spoils.' He thought with a grin as he limped towards her. He pulled her up by her hair once again and looked deeply into her murderous eyes.

"Anything left that you want to say?" He said with a cruel smirk that left no doubt what he planned to do to her now that Kakashi had been disposed of.

"The best genjutsu's aren't those were the opponent can't escape, but when they aren't even aware that they are in one." She said as her tears disappeared and she smiled maliciously at him.

Kabuto had no time to ponder her words before a lightening covered hand erupted through his chest, striking his heart.

'W-what?' He thought as he released Kurenai and stared down at the bloody hole in his chest with incredulous eyes.

"**Lightening blade.**" Kakashi said softly as he pulled his hand back. Kabuto fell to the ground as he felt the icy cold fingers of death begin to take him.

"H-how?" He wheezed out as he turned his head slightly to look at the standing copy ninja as well as the still form his had killed moments before.

"Simple. I just used your own theory against you." Kurenai said as Kakashi helped her to her feet. She was slowly regaining the feeling back to her lower body as Kabuto had only numbed the area.

"I had a suspicion that you would be able to see through my powerful genjutsu. So I set up a second, more subtle one. It took effect as soon as you attempted to kill Kakashi." Kurenai said.

"B-but.." Kabuto began.

"I know, you're wondering how that is possible when you felt your hand connect with my chest. I admit that I was surprised as well. I thought that I was done for. Imagine my surprise when I felt you strike my shoulder and not my chest." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"That's when my genjutsu took effect, the very second you were about to deliver the finishing blow. I simply showed you what you expected to see. You _knew _that you had Kakashi beat, so when you felt your hand hit him, you didn't even think of checking to be sure. How could you miss?" Kurenai said as she saw Kabuto's eyes dim. The last thought to pass his mind was that he couldn't believe he had been defeated by such a small error.

Kakashi removed Kabuto's head with his sword. He was taking no chances that the sound ninja could return to life. Kakashi began to walk towards Kurenai when he felt his knees give way. Kurenai swiftly caught him before he could fall.

"Kakashi, are you ok?" She asked softly.

"As long as you are safe, then I'll be okay." He responded as she placed his arm over her shoulder to help balance him.

"What about the poison?" She asked in concern. He really had been bitten after all.

"That's why I used my blade to kill the snake. It also went into my blood stream and electrified my blood. My body is already used to the effect of lightening as it is my primary element. However, the venom was burned out before it could do any significant damage." He said softly.

"How did you know that would work?" She said with wonder.

"You weren't awake for it, but he was using poison as a weapon earlier. My sharingan showed that his poisons were earth based in nature, and as you know, earth chakra is beaten my lightening chakra." Kakashi said as they limped back towards Konoha's location.

"You really are something special Kakashi." She said with a soft smile.

"Not as special as you, Kurenai-chan." He said as he pulled his mask down and kissed her softly.

They were interrupted from their shard kiss when they felt a wave of chakra wash over them. It contained a mixture of emotion. Rage, fury, horror, and the most predominate out of all of them was pain.

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**Here's chapter 43. Shino's fight is next. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

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Shino stared at his opponent without emotion. He had Haku back, thus he only had to send her captor to an early and well deserved grave. He was currently thinking of the best way to go about fighting his adversary. That he had been able to capture Haku spoke of his skill.

"You aren't going to make the first move? Then I will!" the fake Anbu yelled as he dove and struck Shino with a kunai. Shino's body dissipated into a horde of insects. The bugs swiftly attacked the anbu, attempting to drain him of his chakra. The anbu flared his chakra, blowing the insects off of him. His cloak was in tatters and he threw it away revealing his true identity.

"I believe that my opponents should know the name of the person who will cause their deaths. I am Sakon of the sound five. I am the second strongest member, and this will be your last battle." Sakon stated with a dark smirk.

Sakon wore a brown tunic, long black wrist bands, black shorts, and had a beaded necklace around his neck. He face was slightly feminine as he had brown eye liner and teal lipstick. His hair was a bluish gray and covered his forehead and the right side of his face. The one thing about him that actually caught Shino's attention was the strange, head shaped hump on Sakon's back.

"Your name is unimportant to me. It is only your death that I seek." Shino said calmly as a horde of insects flew around his body, awaiting his commands. He sent a swarm after his opponent and watched his movements.

Sakon quickly jumped from the branch and threw a kunai with an explosive note towards the insects. The resulting explosion dispersed the bugs that lived through the blast itself and gave Sakon time to hide in the underbrush. Orochimaru always commented that Sakon enjoyed toying with his opponents.

Shino looked around slowly. The insects inside of him were constantly buzzing in response to the amount of anger Shino felt, but refused to reveal. He didn't need his opponent noticing anything that could be used against him.

'Where did he go?' Shino thought as he spread his insects out to search for his opponent. There was no reason for him to leave his current position, especially with Haku still unconscious and helpless.

Shino swiftly jumped to avoid the shuriken that had been thrown at him. He sent his insects in the direction that it had come from. As they approached the location, it suddenly exploded taking all the insects with them.

"You rely on those insects too much."

Shino turned and was punched in the face by Sakon. The sound ninja had used ninja wire to manually release the projectiles, thereby distracting Shino from his true position.

"You talk too much." Shino said simply as a horde of insects suddenly erupted from the ground to surround Sakon. Shino wasn't stupid; he had purposely allowed himself to be attacked to lure Sakon out of hiding.

Suddenly, the cloud of insects attacking Sakon fell to the ground, dead. The cause for their demise was the dark, vile, purple chakra that was surrounding Sakon. Shino observed as black marking began to spread over Sakon's body. The tainted chakra of the curse seal was poison to Shino's insects.

"It's time to stop playing with you." Sakon said with a smile.

Shino prepared himself for Sakon's assault. However, he wasn't prepared for the increased speed of his adversary. Sakon was suddenly in front of Shino and kicked him in the chest. Shino flew back and slammed into a tree. Sakon quickly appeared in front of him.

"**Ninja art: Multiple strikes: punch!**" Sakon cried out as he punched Shino in the chest. However, Shino felt as if he was being pummeled by at least ten fists. So powerful were the blows, that Sakon actually broke Shino's body through the tree trunk. Shino coughed up blood as he was felt to huge amount of pain erupt from his abused chest.

Not wanting to give his opponent time to recover, Sakon slammed his foot into Shino's chest and then threw the stunned ninja to slide beside Haku's prone body. Shino was slow to rise, but he had lost none of his conviction.

'There's no way that he could do that with one hand. There's something here I'm not seeing.' Shino thought as Sakon once again ran towards him. However, his speed wasn't going to be enough.

Shino, while not able to detect his enemy due to his speed, was not alone in this fight. His insects, which were known for their ability to detect the very slight change in wind that told them of approaching danger were able to keep track of the sound ninja. Shino closed his eyes and trusted his allies. He ducked under Sakon's kick, much to the sound ninja's surprise. Shino retaliated with a punch to the chin. He followed up with a swift upwards kick that launched Sakon up towards the tree tops.

"**Spider entrapment!**" Shino cried out as his shot the translucent strands of spider silk up to ensnare his opponent. He swiftly pulled Sakon down, slamming the enemy ninja into the ground hard enough to create a small creator.

He pulled Sakon towards him with all his strength. He pulled out a kunai with his free hand and prepared to skewer the ninja when he got close enough. Sakon's limbs were ensnared and he didn't possess the strength to break through the incredibly strong strands. He was flying towards Shino and could do nothing to save himself.

"You say I rely on my insects too much. However, it is with their help that I have been able to attain victory." Shino said as he thrust his kuani towards Sakon's chest. However, a second hand swiftly appeared out of Sakon's chest and grabbed Shino's wrist, preventing him from stabbing Sakon.

'What?!' Shino thought in astonishment. He was hit by the still out of control ninja and lost his concentration, causing him to cancel his jutsu. Sakon got to his feet and jumped back to avoid being ensnared once again by Shino.

"You are mistaken if you believe that you are fighting me one on one. Your bugs might be strong but I have an ally as well." Sakon with a smirk as the bump on his back turned and moved beside Sakon's. The bump was revealed to be a head as it opened its eyes and smirked at Shino. The face was identical to Sakon's except his hair was covering the left side of his face.

"I am Ukon, Sakon's older brother." The second head replied.

"W-What?" Shino asked in shock. He had seen some very strange things, but this easily took the cake.

"Don't tell me you're deaf. We are brothers. My older brother is a bit lazy and normally sleeps while I do all the fighting." Sakon said in a nonchalant tone.

"That's because you always take so long to kill them. That's going to get you in trouble one day. You should kill your enemy as swiftly as possible." Ukon retorted to his younger sibling.

"Hey! It's fun toying with your opponents, especially when they start to get scared. The looks on their faces are priceless!" Sakon commented.

"And who was the one who would have died a few seconds ago without my help?" Ukon asked in a condescending tone.

Shino overcame his shock and decided to attack while they were distracted. He finally understood what had happened before. Ukon could obviously merge with his brother. He used his free limbs to save his brother from the death blow that Shino had sent his way.

The brothers stopped arguing when they noticed that their opponent was racing towards them with a kunai in each hand. He slashed towards their heads, only for Sakon to grab Shino's arms with his hands. He didn't release the Aburame and a twisted smile came upon their faces.

"**Multiple strikes: kicks!**"

Shino was hit with numerous, powerful blows from the duo's legs. He gave a cry of pain as he was held by Sakon and attacked by Ukon. Both brothers began to laugh as they watched Shino take blow after blow. Suddenly, however, Shino's body dissolved into insects that immediately attacked the brothers.

'A clone!' Sakon thought as the bugs latched onto himself and his brother. Both brothers swiftly flared their tainted chakra, killing the insects. However, the small attackers' deaths did not go in vain.

"**Aburame Style: Spider entrapment!**" Shino yelled out as he once again captured the brothers. Not giving them time to react, Shino sent out a few specialized insects. Their job wasn't to attack but to prepare for Shino's next move.

Attached to the insects was very thin ninja wire. They wires themselves had numerous explosive notes attached throughout them. They swiftly circled around the brothers and wound them with the wire. Shino wasted no time in setting the notes off all at once.

The explosion was massive and Shino was very glad that he was able to pull it off. He didn't normally use ninja thread, but Haku had told him that to be under equipped was to invite disaster. Not wanting to be taken unawares, Shino quickly ran to the crater and look down to make sure that they brothers had been dealt with. He froze when he saw nothing at all. Despite the power from the explosion, there should have been something left of the brothers.

He didn't have to wait long to discover where they had gotten too. He felt two impossible strong arms wrap around him from behind.

"You didn't think we would be beaten so easily did you?" Sakon said in a darker tone.

Sakon and Ukon had activated the second level of their curse seal. Sakon's body was now red and a long horn extending from both of their foreheads. Their hair had grown longer and they had long sharp fangs in their mouths.

"We should crush him now and end this." Ukon stated simply.

"No that's too quick. Let's let him suffer first!" Sakon said with a manic smile as the brothers began to flare their chakra and pump it into Shino's body. Shino's insects immediately felt the tainted chakra entering Shino's body, but could do nothing about it. Shino felt scores of his insects wither and die within him from the tainted chakra and cried out in absolute agony. He was connected loosely with the insects to a degree and to feel them die within his own body was causing an unfathomable amount of pain.

"You see brother! This is what's so fun with torturing your opponent first!" He said in glee.

"I still say we finish him, but it looks like he won't last much long anyway." Ukon replied with a smile of his own.

'I've got to escape!' Shino thought in desperation. He had already lost roughly three quarters of his hive and the rest were swiftly fading. However, the brothers were much stronger than him physically.

'Forgive me.' Shino thought as he sent a few of his insects on a suicide run to attack the brothers' eyes. They cried out and released Shino as they attempted to swat the annoying insects. These insects didn't go for their chakra, but were attacking their eyes themselves, preventing the brothers from using simply surging their chakra to kill them.

Shino jumped away and released all the dead bugs from his body. To allow them to remain would have caused infection. He fell to his knees in pain and exhaustion. His allies were helpless to incapacitate his opponents due to their tainted chakra and he didn't have enough to mount an effective offense against the flesh of the brothers.

"It looks like he's a bit tired. Now's the time to finish him." Ukon commented when they had finally rid themselves of their pesky attackers.

"Agreed. He's no longer amusing anyway." Sakon responded with a sigh as they rushed forward to attack Shino.

"**Mud Wall Jutsu!**" Shino yelled as a large wall of earth sprang up from the ground.

"You'll have to do much better than that!" the brother cried at the same time as they drew their collective hands back and smashed through the barrier.

"Die!" they shouted as they passed through the barrier.

"That is my line." Shino said calmly as he slashed down with his surprise weapon, Zabuza's sword.

The brother's eyes widened as they were bisected straight down the middle.

Shino fell to his knees once again as the two halves of the brother's passed by him. He was lucky that they were stupid enough to go through his barrier instead of around it. He dropped the sword, as it was simply too heavy to wield for very long. He had grabbed the scroll from Haku's kimono when they had thrown him towards her earlier. He was lucky that Haku always seemed to carry the weapon's scroll around with her wherever she went. It was mostly likely because she wanted to remember Zabuza, her adoptive father.

Shino was happy that the fight was over. He was done to about one fifth his original colony size. He was sure that he had numerous broken bones, especially in his chest if his trouble breathing was any indication. And he was vaguely sure that he had a concussion as he was having a hard time focusing his eyes.

'At least it's over.' Shino thought as he slowly got to his feet.

"That was really annoying."

"Yes but it proves that he still has some fight left in him."

Shino turned in shock and horror to realize that the fight was far from finished.

Sakon and Ukon were still alive. Not only that, but it seemed that splitting them in half was an error on Shino's part. The two brothers were alive and whole in two separate bodies. Were they had been bisected; they both had grown an additional arm and leg. The new limbs were more demonic looking then their regular limbs as they were covered in scale like skin and were a dark purple color.

"I-Impossible." Shino said in shock.

"Impossible? No simply our blood line limit coming into play. You didn't really think that you were going to defeat us so easily did you?" Ukon asked in a condescending tone. He stretched a bit to get used to being in complete control of a body without his brother interfering.

"You couldn't beat us when we were sharing a body. How do you plan to take us both down when it's two on one?" Sakon added as he prepared himself to rip Shino apart.

Without awaiting an answer, the brothers charged. They saw Shino reach into his coat, but paid it no mind. That is until Ukon's head snapped back from the force of a medium size weight smashing into his head. Sakon looked at his brother in surprise, and paid dearly for it. Shino appeared in front of him and slashed him from shoulder to hip. He jumped back with a cry of pain as Ukon reoriented himself, only to take a kick to the face from Shino. As the brothers regrouped they looked at their enemy to discover exactly how he had been able to catch them by surprise.

In Shino's hands was a kusarigama. His left hand held the sickle, while his right held the long chain that went from the bottom of the edged weapon's handle to the dense iron weight that he was currently swinging around his head. The Aburame clan didn't normally use weapons, but his teammates and sensei had drilled into his head that to always use the same techniques was to become predictable and a predictable ninja swiftly became a dead ninja. He liked the weapon as it gave him a long range attack other than use insects. The weight at the end was easily strong enough to smash in opponent's skulls with the right amount of force. That the weight also could have chakra transferred to it to increase its strength was an added bonus.

"A kusarigama, interesting weapon of choice. It's predominantly used to ward off multiple opponents and keep them at bay." Ukon stated as he rubbed his forehead. Had he not been in his second stage, there was a chance that that blow could have knocked him out.

"Stop sounding so impressed and help me kill him!" Sakon yelled at his older brother, upset that he had taken a blow from the razor sharp sickle.

Shino calmly looked at his opponents as he continued to twirl the weight above his head. He was very glad that he had brought this weapon with him. He now needed a plan on what to do. He had caught them by surprise the first time, but he doubted that it would work twice. Especially considering how much faster and stronger they were in their current forms.

"Let's go!" Sakon yelled as he charged Shino.

"Wait you fool!" Ukon yelled at his impatient brother.

Shino sprung into action. He whipped the weight towards Sakon. The sound ninja ducked under the weight. With a smirk of victory he continued to charge forward, thinking that Shino was finished. Shino calmly yanked the chain back and the weight crashed into the back of Sakon's head. As he fell forward, Shino ran up to him and attempted to strike him in the head with his blade, thereby ending one of his threats. However, Ukon kicked Shino in his unprotected side and launched him into a tree.

"You are much too impulsive brother. Calm down before you get killed. That would have been your fate had I not intervened." Ukon said with an annoyed look on his face.

"Shut up!" Sakon said as he turned to look for their prey. He was surprised to see that Shino was nowhere to be found.

"Where did he go?" Sakon said in frustration. He had yet to pay Shino back for the recent attacks.

"Split up and find him." Ukon responded as they separated and searched for the hiding ninja.

Shino was currently resting in a tree, nurturing his wounded side. That blow from Ukon had blind sighted him and he was sure that he had felt a few ribs crack and one or two break. He was having even more trouble breathing.

'I'll breathe later.' He thought as he watched the brothers move throughout the forest in an attempt to find him.

He saw Sakon coming his way and made his decision. Ukon was the more dangerous opponent to Shino as the elder sibling was not prone to allowing his emotions to control him. He was fairly sure that he could take Sakon out quickly if Ukon was out of the way. Shino stayed perfectly silent as Sakon walked under the tree Shino was hiding in. Shino swiftly struck.

He swung the weight so that the chain would wrap around Sakon's neck. He swiftly jumped out of the tree on the opposite side of the branch he was on. Sakon was hauled up to hang in mid air. He was clutching his throat in an attempt to break the chain. As it was, the chain was wound tightly around his neck and he was slowly suffocating. Shino held tight, trusting the strength of the heavy metal chain to hold long enough for Sakon to perish.

"There you are."

Shino turned and took a powerful punch to the face. He flew back, losing his grip on his weapon and slide along the ground, losing his glasses as well. Ukon stood by as his brother unwound the chain from his throat. It was obvious that Sakon had come very close to dying if the deep bruises on his neck were any indication.

"I knew that you had hid to divide us. Then you planned on attacking us one at a time. A clever scheme. However, my brother was the obvious choice for you to attack first given his tendency to fail to completely observe his surroundings." Ukon stated as he looked at the slow to rise Shino.

"Stay down for a minute Sakon, let me handle this." Ukon replied as he walked forward. He stopped and looked at the discarded kusarigama and picked it up.

'It's only fitting to kill him with his own weapon.' Ukon thought as Sakon continued to attempt to catch his breath and open up his nearly crushed air way. Shino turned and attempted to run to think up a plan. Ukon was having none of it though.

Shino felt the weight and chain wrap around his leg and looked down, only to be hauled back by Ukon. He swung the caught Aburame around until he swung him into a tree, cracking the trunk. Shino coughed up blood with a cry of pain. Ukon appeared in front of him and slashed down with the sickle, seeking to end the fight. In a desperate move of survival, Shino sent a majority of his remaining insects right into Ukon's face, temporarily blinding him. Ukon leapt back with an outcry of pain. Shino swiftly grabbed his weapon and delivered two deep slash wounds to Ukon chest. He followed up by swinging the weight and smashing Ukon directly in the face, sending the sound ninja flying back into the dense forest.

'Now where is the other one?' Shino thought in agony as he fell to one knee. His body was badly beaten and he wasn't sure how much longer he could fight.

"Who are you looking for?"

Shino turned his head and felt a sense of horror spread through his system. Staring back at him, connected to his shoulder, was Sakon's head.

"My brother and I can combine with each other, true, but we can also combine our cells with our opponents. Once this is done, then we can slowly destroy them one cell at a time. It's very painful and slow, but their nothing you can do about it. Do you feel it yet? You should start having trouble breathing as I am currently attacking your lungs." Sakon said with a malicious smile. He could speed up the process but he wanted Shino to suffer for all the pain he had gone through fighting the Aburame.

"You….talk..too…much." Shino wheezed out as he dropped his weapon and found he couldn't breathe.

"Soon you won't be talking at ack!" Sakon said in pain as he felt something go wrong. He felt intense pain erupt from within his body and felt as if his own cells were being attacked. He swiftly unmerged with Shino to escape this pain. To his horror, he continued to feel as if something was eating him from the inside out. He fell to his hands and knees in agony.

"My body is inhabited by my insects. They have been with me since birth. Do you really think they would have a hard time telling the difference between our cells? I sent them to attack your cells from within my body, and the pain you're feeling right now is due to the fact that when you escaped from me, you took a few unwelcome guests with you." Shino said as he slowly limped over to Sakon's thrashing body. He reversed his grip on the sickle and placed the blade under the neck of the downed sound ninja.

Sakon looked behind him into Shino's fierce eyes.

"N-no." He said in fear.

"A real ninja shouldn't fear death." Shino replied as he yanked up with is sickle, opening Sakon's throat and ending the sound ninja's life.

Shino fell to his knees, his breath coming out in pants of pain. He had not been completely truthful when he had said that his insects could tell the difference between Sakon's cells and his own. While they could differentiate between the invasive cells in his body, the fact of the matter was that Sakon's cells were bonded with Shino's own. To attack one was to attack the other. Shino had simply been able to bluff his opponent to the point that he really believed that Shino was taking no damage. As it was, Shino's lungs were heavily damaged.

'One down, one to go.' Shino thought as he tried to get to his feet. However, his body had reached his limit and he fell face forward into the ground, unable to move.

'I can't quit now. I've got to keep fighting.' Shino thought as he tried to will his body to move. However, he was simply too worn out and beaten to continue on. His few remaining insects alerted Shino to the fact that Ukon was approaching.

"I always knew that my idiot brother would die in such an undignified way." Ukon stated as he walked out of the tree line towards the body of his brother and Shino's unmoving form.

"Your impatience has finally cost you your life." Ukon stated to his deceased brother, in a tone that didn't seem upset in the least. He turned to Shino and saw that he had nothing more to give.

"I am not my brother. I believe that when you plan to kill someone then you should simply kill them. What's the point in wasting words on a dead man anyway?" Ukon stated as he turned Shino over and picked up his sickle.

"You are a very powerful opponent, worthy of respect. I will grant you a swift death." Ukon stated as he swung down ready to pierce Shino in the heart.

The edged weapon never made it to its intended target. A shard of ice smashed into Ukon's hand. However while the blade failed to pierce Shino's heart, the shard had hit his hand too late to completely divert the blow. The blade pierced Shino in the chest, missing his heart by inches. Ukon looked up and was hit with the flat side of the giant sword that once belonged to the demon of the mist. Haku had finally awoken and by the look on her face, someone was going to die.

When Haku had awoken, she instantly knew something was wrong. She was bound by tight ropes that stopped her from moving and see could sense that something was very wrong with Shino. She wasn't sure how she knew this, nor did she think about the fact that the insects guarding her picked up on her thoughts and quickly freed her from her bonds. She ran off at full speed, picking up her blade along the way.

'Hold on Shino-kun. I'll be there.' She had thought. Her heart had stopped when she saw that Shino was about to be killed. Her mind reverted back to the time during the chunin exams when Shino was in the same position. She saw the sickle descend and was almost too late in creating a shard of ice to divert the blade from killing Shino. She thought her heart might shatter at Shino's outcry of pain, but it along with all the rest of her thoughts and emotions were quickly drowned out by a overwhelming amount of rage.

Haku loved Zabuza dearly, but she was never able to produce the amount of hatred and rage that he seemed to use to fuel himself during battles. She had never felt anger towards an opponent before until she had met Shino because she had never been possessive of another person until she had met Shino. He eyes hardened until they were as cold as the ice that she controlled. She barely acknowledged Shino as she walked past, seeking to end the life of Ukon.

Ukon got to his feet and shook his head. He wasn't used to being blindsided. He looked up and for the first time in his life, felt his heart flutter with fear. The girl they had kidnapped was standing before him, her eyes revealing her hatred and rage.

Haku didn't say anything. She simply created a hand signs and pillars of ice surrounded Ukon. The sound ninja attempted to jump away, but was forced down when the pillars connected together to form a dome of ice. He had hit the roof and failed to break through. He was surrounded by a dome of ice. And to his horror, the dome began to shrink.

"**Ice style:** **Frost Nova**" Haku stated as the dome solidified and continued to shrink. Ukon continued to yell and smash his fists and feet into the dome of ice. However, it was all for naught. The dome continued to shrink until Ukon couldn't move. He was losing feeling in his limbs as the temperature in the dome was subarctic. He fell to his knees as his curse seal receded and he looked up. He met the eyes of Haku and saw no compassion. Only his death could be found in brown eyes of his opponent that seemed to glow with rage. The dome of ice stopped shrinking around Ukon. He looked around in confusion and looked at her. The smile on her face would have made Zabuza proud.

Haku gestured with her hand as a spike of ice sprouted from one point of the dome. The spike stabbed him in his arm. He yelled out in pain as numerous spikes began to sprout from the dome and pierced his body. None of the places struck were vital, nor was there a chance in him bleeding out as the temperature was too cold. He could do nothing but cry out in pain as he was continuously stabbed. The pain was great and it the cold was unbearable. What was worse was that the spikes would stop at different intervals, making it impossible to condition his mind to accept the pain.

"K-k-kill m-me." Ukon cried out at one point. He couldn't take it anymore. The pain, the bone chilling cold, all of it was too much. That she was not at all in a rush to take his life was maddening. He looked towards her and saw the eyes of a devil. There was no compassion, no remorse, just a promise of more unbearable pain and suffering.

"No." Haku simply replied as the pain began again.

"S-stop! P-p-please just k-k-ill me!" Ukon shouted out as he was again pierced by the spikes.

"Kill you? Now, now that would be far too easy. We're just beginning to have fun." Haku said as her smile grew darker.

"Stop Haku-chan."

Haku's eyes widened as she turned around and saw Shino somehow standing up. It was obvious that he was going to collapse at any moment.

"Shino-kun." Haku said as her eyes filled with tears at his appearance.

"This is not you Haku-chan. Please just end it." He said softly as he fell forward. Haku was quick to catch him before he fell forward.

Haku laid him on his back and slowly stood to her feet. Her eyes frosted over once again as she took in the pathetic form of Ukon. He was on his knees still and it was obvious that his was in an unimaginable amount of pain from the uncountable number of stab wounds in his body. Haku sighed and held her hand up and swiftly closed it. Numerous thick spikes came from the walls of the dome and the dome then swiftly collapsed into itself, skewering Ukon with the spikes and instantly killing the sound ninja.

Haku spared him not another look as she went to Shino. As the rage had left her, her concern for his well being came back with full force. She fell to her knees and slowly withdrew the sickle. She had extensive knowledge of the human body and knew that it couldn't stay in. It was too close t the heart to chance it. After she withdrew it, she ran through a few hand signs and began to attempt to heal him. She had a bit of knowledge on medical ninjutsu and was now pouring all of her chakra into saving his life. She found numerous places where she had to focus her attention. He was truly a mass of injuries. It was harder to find a place on his body where he wasn't injured.

'Just hang on Shino-kun. I will never let you die.' Haku thought. She felt a hand on hers and saw that Shino was alert enough to know that she was there. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her through his bleary vision.

"You are safe no Shino-kun. Rest my brave warrior." She said softly as his eyes closed once again.

She continued to attempt to save him when she felt a presence behind her. She turned and was shocked by the person looking at her.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Here's chapter 44. Now on to what you've all been waiting for. Naruto vs Sasuke!! Let the war begin! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45 Naruto vs Sasuke**

****

Sasuke looked down at the still water that Naruto had fallen into. He gave a slight smirk at how easy it was to rile the blonde ninja up and make him lower his guard.

'That should take care of that demon giving the dobe power. I doubt he's even worth fighting now.' Sasuke thought as he jumped down from the statue he was standing on. He landed on the water with little effort and simply waited. He knew that blow wasn't enough to put Naruto out of commission for long. In fact he was counting on it. He wanted a fight not a one blow victory.

He didn't have to wait long before he felt a massive influx of chakra underneath the water. He watched as Naruto shot out of the water and landed on his feet glaring at the Uchiha.

"About time you got back up here. I was beginning to think that you were already beaten. It wouldn't surprise me, seeing as how you're nowhere near my level now." Sasuke taunted.

Naruto was glaring at Sasuke, but was more upset with himself. How could he have allowed such a thing? He had been taught much better than that.

'I only hope nee-san doesn't find out about that. She'd probably beat me to death for allowing my anger to control me.' Naruto thought as he looked down at his chest. He had removed his shirt and was looking at the seal overlaying his normal one. He could feel absolutely none of Kyuubi's chakra in his system. The pain he felt earlier was due to the demonic chakra being forcibly shoved back into the seal. Had he been dependant on the fox's charka for a long period of time, the seal may have knocked him unconscious. As it was Naruto could tell that he was at about eighty percent of his full strength with the seal messing up his chakra flow.

He looked at Sasuke and couldn't help but grit his teeth at the smug expression on the Uchiha's face. It was the same smile that he had given Naruto as he heartlessly tried to violate Hinata.

"Are you going to stare at me all day, or are you going to fight. Don't tell me you're afraid." Sasuke said as he fell into a taijutsu stance.

"I'll give you one last chance Sasuke. Come back peacefully and I'll try to leave your body mostly intact. My orders are to bring you back dead or alive." Naruto all but growled.

"One of us is going to die here dobe." Sasuke sneered.

"Dead then." Naruto said calmly as he disappeared.

Sasuke's smirk never left his face and he swiftly ducked under the kick Naruto had sent towards his head. He looked directly into Naruto's stunned eyes.

"I can see you." Sasuke said as he punched Naruto in the face sending him back.

Naruto quickly righted himself and rubbed his aching jaw. Not only had Sasuke gotten faster but also much stronger.

"Don't look so surprised. What do you think I've been doing since my humiliation during the chunin exams? Every day I have been training my body. Pushing myself beyond my breaking points. Improving myself so that I can finally accomplish my goals. You actually helped me Naruto." Sasuke said.

"And how do you figure that?" Naruto asked.

"It was the thought of finally defeating you that kept me going. Every time I was at the end of my rope, I just thought of you. I thought about how much you had improved and how I was left behind. You can't understand the humiliation that I felt that a loser like you was ahead of me! I am the last of the Uchiha and second to NO ONE!" Saskue yelled out in furry as his chakra spiked and the water around his feet began to ripple violently from the chakra.

"Spare me. I already told you at the academy and during the second exam that I care nothing of your obsession with defeating me Sasuke. Get it through your skull that I don't care about you or your dreams. Had you left Hinata-chan and the rest of my friends alone we could have averted this battle." Naruto said with a disinterested look as he flared his own chakra. Sasuke may have improved vastly, but in terms of sheer physical strength, Naruto had him outclassed.

"You don't get it! Whether or not you acknowledge it makes little difference. I am going to finally put you in your place, beneath my feet and then you shall know that no matter how powerful you become you'll always be second best." Sasuke said with his smirk returning.

Naruto said nothing more as he took a deep breath and relaxed himself. With Sauske's sharingan fully developed he knew that this battle would be far more trouble then he earlier believed. Though that didn't mean he didn't plan to bury the Uchiha, he was just going to have to calm done or it would be he that was defeated.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Sasuke attacked. He rushed towards Naruto and kicked towards his chest. Naruto jumped back and swiftly retaliated with a low snap kick towards Sasuke's knee. Sasuke gave a small hop and kicked Naruto in the chest. Naruto flipped back with the blow and landed on his feet. He immediately rushed forward and head butted Sasuke, before the Uchiha could land. Sasuke staggered back a bit before regaining his composure.

"Not bad dobe, but not good enough." Sasuke said.

"Enough words. We've both already said what needed to be said. You're not coming back willingly which means I can fix a mistake." Naruto said fiercely.

"And what mistake is that." Sasuke said with a snort of disinterest.

"You should have perished with the rest of your clan. I'm going to fix your brother's mistake." Naruto said calmly, but in a tone that left no doubt as to his complete faith in his declaration.

"How dare you!" Sasuke shouted in rage as he rushed towards the blonde shinobi.

Naruto fell into the true dragon taijutsu style as Sasuke strike. Back and forth they went at each other at speeds that rivaled that of low level jonin. With his sharingan active, Sasuke was able to see what Naruto's moves were. However, this was as much a curse as a blessing. Naruto had been training hard with his style and had gotten to the point where he was able to use six different styles in quick session. While Sasuke was able to see the move Naruto was beginning with, Naruto would quickly switch styles at the last moment, keeping the Uchiha from being able to predict him.

Naruto was not having an easy time with Sasuke either. While he was holding his own, it was obvious that Sasuke had obtained a speed that even surpassed his own. He may have been stronger than Sasuke, but the Uchiha was faster than him. So while Sasuke was getting more blows in on his opponent, Naruto's blows were stronger and caused more damage. It was a battle of quantity versus quality.

Naruto ducked under a punch and switched from a leg sweep to a high kick that caught Sasuke in the face. Sasuke fell on his back and quickly cut his flow of chakra to sink beneath the water to avoid a heel drop kick from Naruto. Naruto looked as Sasuke disappeared in the dark water. His eyes swiftly widened as he saw a bright light approaching from under the water.

"**Fire style: fire Ball Jutsu!**"

Naruto was enveloped by the giant fire ball that burst from the water underneath him. Sasuke surfaced quickly and looked into the dissipating fire. He saw no body and looked around to try and spot where Naruto had gotten too.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**"

Sasuke looked down as multiple clones emerged from the water and rushed towards Sasuke. With his sharingan spinning Sasuke attacked. He dispersed five clones before they could react in time to his forward assault. He ducked and dodged the attacks that came from his blind side. He jumped over the clones and destroyed them with a few well placed shuriken. Only a few remained and Sasuke was interested in the fact that they weren't really attacking him.

'What are they waiting for?' He thought until he felt two hands grip his ankles. He looked down and saw the real Naruto under water holding him. The clones struck. They grabbed onto Sasuke and then exploded. Naruto sprang out of the water, still clutching Sasuke's legs and swiftly flung the wounded ninja into the valley cliff walls. Naruto stood watching, knowing that the battle was far from over.

"**Water style: Cascading Wave!**"

Naruto's eyes widened at the huge wave of water that swept him up in its wake and smashed him on the other side of the cliff walls.

'Since when can Sasuke use water techniques?' Naruto thought as he pulled himself out of the rubble. Nothing was broken but he was going to be feeling that hit tomorrow.

He looked across and saw Sasuke in the same position as he. Their eyes met and for only a brief moment they saw what could have been. Had Naruto never gained insight from the mysterious being, had he never met Anko and received training and continued on with his faulty dream. Had these things happened, Naruto may have accepted Sasuke as a rival. Who was to know? They may have even become friends on team seven and pushed each other to be great. Naruto may have been the light that would have kept Sasuke from falling so easily into the darkness fueled by his hate and lust for power. Had Naruto never become friends with Hinata and Shino, then he may very well have depended on Sasuke as one of the few people who had ever acknowledged his existence causing Naruto to consider Sasuke a close friend, like a brother and Naruto, being naturally very protective of his friends and love ones, would have been forced to do anything it took to save Sasuke from the darkness of his own heart.

However, those things hadn't happened. Naruto had received help. He had decided on a new nindo and way to live. He had met Anko and found a sister. He grew closer to Iruka and found a brother. He became friends with Hinata, Shino, and Kureani and found a team the accepted him. He found a brother in Shino and the love of his life in Hinata.

Without someone to be the light to his darkness, Sasuke had fallen into the abyss with little effort. He had given himself to the darkness of his soul for power, power enough to crush his brother for what he had done. Power enough to let all who faced him crumble before his strength. Power enough to finally settle the raging battle inside his own mind as to who was greater, the dobe or himself.

They stared at each other until the moment was broken. This was the present they found themselves in and wondering on what could have been was a waste of time and energy. Sasuke was still determined to destroy Naruto, and Naruto was determined to finally rid himself and the village of the Uchiha clan.

"I believe that it's time to get serious, Naruto." Sasuke said as his gaze hardened. He pulled out a scroll and unsealed a katana.

"I agree." Naruto said softly though his gaze was no less fierce as he drew his blade.

They rushed forward and met in a flurry of strikes. Naruto slammed his blade into Sasuke's and for a moment they were dead locked glaring at the other. They broke their lock as Naruto kicked Sasuke in the side, only to take a light cut to the chest in retaliation from the Uchiha. With a snarl Naruto attacked fiercely and got retribution by delivering a deep slash to Sasuke's arm. Sasuke jumped back and activated a jutsu.

"**Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!**" Sasuke cried out as he unleashed multiple balls of fire at his opponent. Being attacked at such a short range prevented Naruto from being able to dodge. He put his arms up to block as best he could but was hit by each ball of fire and thrown back.

Not one to allow an opportunity to escape him, Sasuke rushed forward and attempted to stab Naruto in the chest before he could rise to his feet. Naruto swiftly rolled to the side and jumped up. Sasuke attacked once again by attempting to slash Naruto in the face. Naruto ducked and attempted to kick Sasuke's feet out from underneath him. Sasuke jumped up and attempted a duel thrust kick to the chest. Naruto did a one arm hand stand and wrapped his legs around Sasuke's out stretched limbs. He twisted his body and for a moment they were both parallel to one another hanging in mid air sideways, which is exactly what Naruto wanted.

"**Slicing Cyclone!**" He shouted as he thrust his arm forward and the miniature tornado slammed into Sasuke's chest hurling him into the valley's stone walls once again.

"**Hidden Shadow Snakes!**" Naruto shouted as he thrust his arm forward and let fly the serpent that flew from his sleeves. He grabbed onto the still stunned Sasuke and pulled the Uchiha towards him. He kicked Sasuke in the chest and attempted to remove his head with his sword. Sasuke was just able to move his bound arm enough to bring his sword up to block the lethal strike. Undeterred Naruto said two simple words.

"**Dragon Strike.**" Sasuke's eyes widened as he was blasted back by the golden dragon shaped blast. Sasuke's sword snapped under the force of the blast and he cried out in pain as he bore another a whole in the side of the cliff wall.

Naruto stood tall and simply waited to see whether or not Saskue would rise again. If he did, Naruto was simply going to put him down. Granted even if he didn't rise to his feet, Naruto was still going to stomp him into the ground.

Naruto wasn't expecting a laugh to come from his foe. Sasuke stood up with a grin and wiped the blood from his lip. He had seen better days. His body was littered with injuries, yet he seemed more happy than upset.

'This is what I have been waiting for. A battle against a worthy opponent.' Sasuke thought. Contrary to what most believed, Sasuke didn't hate Naruto exactly. What he hated was the indifference that Naruto sent his way. He believed that he deserved attention and when Naruto continually disregarded him and his attempts to get Naruto to fight him, Sasuke's pride was sorely damaged. He felt that he was on another level when compared to the other students in the academy. He felt that it was a huge compliment on his part to even consider Naruto worthy enough to become his rival. However, Naruto wanted nothing to do with him. It was as if he cared nothing of how much better they were then the others and had no desire to find out who was the best between them. This infuriated Sasuke to no end and was a driving force in making his decision. He had sold his soul to darkness, given in to his hate, and betrayed his village for power, power enough to defeat his brother and for the opportunity to finally prove himself against Naruto. If he had to kidnap his girlfriend to make the blonde fight him then it was very small price to pay in his opinion.

"I didn't know you considered a beating so funny." Naruto said with a snarl. He was not at all amused by Sasuke's laughter. Sasuke said nothing as black flame like markings began to spread over his skin.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the dark power radiating off of Sasuke as the Uchiha disappeared. Naruto's expression became shocked when he turned and saw Sasuke standing behind him.

"You're too slow." Sasuke said softly as he kicked Naruto in the back.

Naruto had no time to counter before Sasuke appeared before him and punched him in the face. Naruto righted himself in mid air and landed on his feet. Sasuke's power and speed had drastically increased and he was put off for a moment in shock. He broke out of his thoughts when he discovered that he couldn't figure out where Sasuke had gone to. Naruto got his answer when three demon wind shuriken erupted from the water barely missing him. He jumped away as they turned in the air and flew towards him. He was not quick enough, however, to avoid being ensnared by the wires connected to the projectiles. He looked down and saw Sasuke grinning up at him.

"**Fire Style: Dragon flame jutsu!**" Sasuke shouted as flames ran up the line to hit Naruto causing him to cry out in pain. Naruto fell towards the water, but never made it. Sasuke appeared beside him, his smirk of superiority never once leaving his face. He gave a spin kick to the head, launching Naruto back to smash into the wall of the cliff.

"**Fire style: Flame canon!**" Sasuke yelled out as a large blast of fire erupted from his mouth and headed towards Naruto. So powerful was the fire attack that it made a trench in the water as the flames were hot enough to cause the water to completely revert to steam from shear proximity. It collided with the wall and burned a deep hole in the solid stone wall.

"Is it over already Naruto?! Don't tell me that this is the best you can do! You'll never save Hinata at this rate." Sasuke taunted, not doubting at all that Naruto had survived the blast.

He heard a low growl that soon erupted in a massive roar of fury as a bright gold light erupted from the rubble. Naruto blasted the rock off of him with a roar of chakra and stood before Sasuke, glowing with the golden white light of divine chakra.

"Watch your mouth Uchiha." Naruto snarled as he flared his chakra. Sasuke flared his own and they found themselves equal in terms of chakra.

Both disappeared and battled hand to hand at extreme speeds. Punches, kicks, and head butts were exchanged. Blow after blow was delivered to one another until they jumped back for only a moment before they struck once again. They didn't let up, they didn't rest. For a few minutes they were locked in a battle wills. Every blow was received and quickly returned. Their bodies ignored the pain as their minds forced them to fight harder and harder. They appeared before each other and each delivered a punch to the other's face at the same time sending them both back even as the water around them shook from the force of the blows.

Growing tired of the seemingly never ending fight, Naruto pulled his sword form its sheath once again. Without his blade, Naruto believed that Sasuke would soon fall to his blade. He rushed forward and cleaved a line in the stone wall as Sasuke quickly fled.

"Get back here Uchiha!" Naruto shouted as he chased after him. Sasuke ran up the side of the wall until he was once again standing at the top of the valley. Naruto swiftly followed him and once again went on the attack. Not giving his opponent time to react, Naruto punched Sasuke in the chest and slashed him on the thigh. Sasuke's leg buckled and Naruto kicked him in the head sending him sprawling on the ground as his head rang from the blow.

Naruto was there in an instant and slashed down with his blade, seeking Sasuke's head. Sasuke's arm went behind his back and pulled out a sword that was all too familiar to Naruto. A large blade of lightening erupted from the handle of the sword that Sasuke had strapped to his back under his shirt.

"The rajin?!" Naruto said in shock. He thought for sure he had seen the last of that blade when he defeated Aoi back in wave.

"I found it at the bridge the day after the battle. To think that it was just lying there for anyone to take." Sasuke sneered as he spun on the ground and kicked Naruto hands, causing him to lose grip of his blade. Sasuke struck and sank his blade deep into Naruto's shoulder. Naruto cried out in pain from the blade as well as the coursing currents of electricity going through his body. Sasuke pulled the blade out and slashed across Naruto's chest. Naruto fell back in pain. Not letting up, Sasuke kicked Naruto off the edge and jumped down after him. He performed a front ward flip and slammed his feet into Naruto's chest, sending him smashing into the rock below. As Naruto slowly got to his feet in intense pain he saw Sasuke in front of him holding his blade's point towards Naruto.

"**Lightening style: Static burst!**" a wave of lightening shot out of the blade and hit Naruto in the chest, sending him back into the wall of the valley. Naruto slowly crawled out of the rocks in pain. He was having trouble moving his left arm from the stab to his shoulder. He was sure he had broken a rib or two from the fall. He saw Sasuke wasn't a lot better though. He was still feeling the effects of the dragon strike that had sent him tumbling into the walls earlier. Naruto looked up at the cliff face and gave Sasuke a quick glare. Sasuke returned his look.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**"Naruto shouted as he sent his clones towards Sasuke. Sasuke quickly went on the attack and began to swiftly dispatch the clones. Sasuke slashed one clone in the back dispersing it as another grabbed him from behind. He flipped over the clone to avoid the frontal assault a second clone was making on him when he had been grabbed. He kicked the first clone in the back, causing him to slam into his counterpart. He swiftly stepped up and stabbed his blade through both of them. He looked up and was kicked in the face by one clone as another grabbed him with its hidden shadow snakes technique and slammed him into the ground. Sasuke slowly rose to his feet. He looked up and saw all of clones waiting for him to get up to attack again. Sasuke looked down and noticed that they were all standing on the water. He raised the rajin and placed the lightening blade into the water. He sent a large jolt of electricity through the blade and the water conducted the current. The clones all cried out as they were electrocuted and vanished. Sasuke looked around for Naruto.

He saw him running up the cliff wall, trying to retrieve his blade from where he had dropped it. Not willing to allow his opponent to get his weapon again, Sasuke quickly ran through hand signs for his favorite jutsu.

"**Fire style: Fire ball jutsu**!" Sasuke yelled out as a large ball of fire raced towards Naruto. Naruto jumped off of the cliff wall to avoid the ball of fire. Sasuke moved quickly and appeared before him when the blonde landed on the ground. Sasuke slashed Naruto from shoulder to hip and kicked him in the chest back into the cliff wall. He rushed up and grabbed him by the throat.

"Did you really think that I would allow you to retrieve your blade?" Sasuke said in a condescending tone.

"Do you really think that it would take me so long to actually get it back?" Naruto replied with a smirk as Sasuke heard a voice behind him.

"**Dragon Strike!**"

Sasuke turned, but the clone grabbed onto him, preventing him from jumping out of the way. He was hit full on by the blast as the clone was dispersed. Naruto stood on the water, panting heavily. He had sent his clones on the attack and immediately ran up the cliff face. When he felt all the clones disperse he quickly made one last clone to run on the cliff wall. All he had to do next was to wait until Sasuke let his guard down to attack. He was using quite a bit of chakra in this fight so far and was feeling all the injuries that had been given to him from Sasuke. He felt better when he thought about the pain that Sasuke must have been in as well.

Naruto stared with steely eyes at the large expulsion of dark energy that blew the rubble away from Sasuke's body. Sasuke was in as bad of shape as Naruto. Both had numerous wounds ranging from small cuts to deep gashes littering their bodies. Naruto had quite a few severe burns to his chest and leg and his left arm was still slightly slow to his commands. Sasuke could barely move his right arm and his chest and face had several deep slashes from Naruto's slicing cyclone. Both were low on chakra, despite using the curse and divine chakra.

"Lets finish this battle between us Naruto. One of us will live and the other will die." Sasuke said softly as his curse seal began to spread over his body. His hair grew longer and took on a darker blue color to it. His skin took on a dark gray color. Two large webbed claw shaped wings sprouted out of his back. A star shaped mark appeared on the bridge of his nose. His eyes changed as well. His sharingan was fully active but around the dojutsu the rest of the eye was solid black in color. The rajin reacted to the dark energy coursing through his body and the normal white lightening blade turned darker until the blade was black in color as well. The blade began to emit a loud electric noise, revealing its increased strength.

"You're special Naruto. But not as special as me." Sasuke said as he admired the pure addictive power running through his body.

"Special? Is that what you call yourself? You're a fool Uchiha if you think that power comes without a price." Naruto said as he too began to transform. His tattered shirt completely burned away. His hair spiked up and took on a deep gold color. His eyes glowed a whitish gold color. The swirling chakra around him condensed until it stuck to him like a second skin. The black dragon tattoo reappeared and began to wind around his body. Curiously enough, the dragon wrapped around the five pronged seal and somehow dispersed the cursed seal, returning Naruto's chakra capacity to full power. This task finished, the dragon wound around Naruto's back until the head of the dragon's head rested over Naruto's right eye. Though the transformation was not as dramatic as Sasuke's in terms of how his body changed, both combatants knew that they were once again on equal terms when it came to their overall power.

"Comes without a price? No, Naruto I know full well what the price for this power is. It doesn't matter to me though. Whatever plans Orochimaru has of taking my power will ultimately fail in the end. After I defeat you, I will go to the sound village and train with him until he serves no furhter purpose to me. Then I will have the power to defeat my brother and anyone else that dares stand in the way of my ambition." Sasuke said with a disturbed chuckle.

"Your plan has a flaw." Naruto said softly.

"Oh? And what's that?" Sasuke asked.

"It assumes that you can kill me." Naruto said with a grin of his own.

"No matter how much you've improved dobe, I will always come out on top." Sasuke said as he crouched in a ready stance.

"Now that is an interesting theory." Naruto retorted as he to prepared himself.

No more words were exchanged. The time for talk was over. One would rise and the other would fall. The clouds began to darken and a light rain began to fall. Two titans of power stood facing each other. One wielding the dark power gained from a deranged, power hungry, mad man. While the other was wielding the power of dragons given to him by a man who he had never seen before. A bolt of lightning flashed between them and they became blurs of speed.

The finally confrontation had begun and both combatants were determined to emerge victorious.

****

**Here's chapter 45! Next chapter will conclude their fight. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46: Naruto vs Sasuke the conclusion**

They struck in a clash of tremendous power. The very water and earth around them shook from the tremors of power that were unleashed when they clashed together. Hate filled red eyes stared heatedly into their golden counterparts. The chaotic black lightening blade clashed and fought against the calm golden colored dragon blade. Their very auras seemed to naturally oppose each other was the tainted dark purple chakra and the golden white pure divine chakra seemed to push against one another.

"Is that all you've got!" Naruto yelled as he overpowered Sasuke and turned his blade away. He swiftly kicked Sasuke in the chest, pushing the avenger back.

"I should be the one asking that question. I haven't even broken a sweat yet!" Sasuke shouted back as he swung his sword forward. A wave of lightening extended from the blade and rushed towards Naruto. Naruto jumped and watched with little interest as the wave of chakra easily cleaved a large cut into the side of the cliff walls.

"**Dragon Strike!**" Naruto shouted out as he unleashed three dragon blasts at Sasuke.

Sasuke gathered chakra into his blade and unleashed a massive wave of lightening chakra that canceled out the separate attacks. Sasuke then jumped into the air and clashed once again with Naruto. They found themselves in a battle of wills and strength and neither had any plans to lose.

"You don't learn very fast do you? **Dragon Strike!**" Naruto yelled out as the golden blast extended from his blade and blasted Sasuke back towards the earth. Sasuke righted himself on the water and had already finished making hand signs.

"**Fire style: Phoenix Fire jutsu!**" Sasuke unleashed multiple fire blasts. Unlike before however, these blasts were much larger and the fire itself had a darker color to it. 

Not at all afraid of the attack, Naruto dove down towards Sasuke. He cared little for the balls of fire that came close to him. He simply dodged the ones he could and batted the others out of the air. The concentrated divine chakra surrounding his body like a second skin prevented any damage unless he took a direct hit.

Noticing that Naruto wasn't even avoiding his attack, Sasuke decided to try a different tactic. The phoenix fire attack wasn't truly meant for power so much as being a distraction.

"**Giant fire ball jutsu!**" Sasuke shouted out as a ball of fire roughly three times the size of his normally fired attack flew towards Naruto.

Naruto raised his hands over his face as the massive ball of fire slammed into him. Sasuke watched as Naruto was engulfed by the attack and waited to see what Naruto had in mind now. He wasn't foolish enough to believe that he had just defeated Naruto. This fight was far from over.

Sasuke was proven correct when he saw multiple Narutos fly through the explosion of fire towards him. Sasuke brought his blade up in preparation of an attack, only to notice that the clones weren't slowing down. His eyes warned him of the danger as he jumped aside. As soon as the clones hit the water, they exploded. Sasuke was put on the defensive as the kamikaze exploding clones continued to fly towards him. He had no choice but to dodge as striking the clones with his blade would only cause him to be caught in the subsequent explosion.

Growing tired of being put on the defensive, Sasuke unleashed his phoenix fire jutsu one again, targeting the clones. The sky light up with the explosions from the clones being hit. Sasuke had no time to rest as Naruto came soaring down towards him. He struck with his blade only for the blow to be blocked by Sasuke's. The momentum behind Naruto's descent was powerful enough to push both boys into the water below. Both jumped up simultaneously and stared at each other. They saw no hesitation in the other's eyes. They both were determined to come out victorious in this fight.

"You're not going to win Naruto. I still have many tricks up my sleeve!" Sasuke said simply as he swung his blade, unleashing a wave of lightening.

Naruto didn't respond as he slashed through the wave of lightening. He gave Sasuke a slight smirk before raising one of his hands. A blue orb of chakra began to form and spin rapidly. Naruto gave a slight chuckle at Sasuke's stunned expression.

"You're not the only one Uchiha." Naruto said simply as he rushed forward and slashed with his left arm. Sasuke was forced to block the attack, only to leave himself vulnerable as Naruto thrust his attack towards Sasuke's chest.

"**Rasengan!**" Naruto yelled as he unleashed his attack. Sasuke turned slightly to the side, but not enough to take him out of the range of the spiraling sphere of chakra.

However, this wasn't his intention. Naruto was caught unawares as he suddenly felt a massive blow hit him on his unprotected left side. He flew back and took a minute to regain his composure as he stood up he saw what had hit him. When Sasuke had turned slightly to the side, he was simply giving one of the webbed wings on his back a window to hit Naruto in his blind spot. Naruto watched as the wings seemed to stretch a bit before moving back behind his body.

"You didn't think these wings were just for flight and for show did you?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

Naruto growled in his throat at being caught off guard and rushed in to attack once again. They locked blades and the battle recommenced. However, this time Naruto had to be mindful of the wing like appendages on Sasuke's back. He would continually swipe them forward in an attempt to hit Naruto again. Naruto found that he was being forced back as he had to give more and more ground to effectively block Sasuke's sword strikes and the blows from his fists, legs, and wings. He took a fist to the face and follow up blow from one of the wings that threw him into the cliff wall.

"**Slicing Cyclone!**"

Sasuke jumped up and avoided the large cyclone that came from the hole in the wall. Curiously, the attack wasn't even aimed at him. The cyclone hit the water directly in front of where Sasuke had been standing. The water shot into the air and obscured Sasuke's vision. Naruto appeared in front of him and slammed his newly created rasengan into Sasuke's chest. Sasuke cried out in pain as he was blasted down towards the ground. Naruto flew down and quickly sheathed his sword. He grabbed the two wings on Sasuke's back and held them beak so that the Uchiha couldn't glide out of his fall. Naruto planted his feet firmly on Sasuke's back and stretched his body backward, causing Sasuke's midsection to stretch as well. He kept the pressure on until they slammed into the ground, creating a large crater. Sauke's coughed out blood at having his chest smashed into the unforgiving earth without any way to brace for the pain and damage.

He did have the presence of mind to roll out of the way to avoid a slash from Naruto that would have taken his head, though he was rewarded with a slash across his back. He jumped up and thrust his sword forward.

"**Lightening senbon!**" Sasuke shouted as small, needle long burst of lightening erupted from his blade. Naruto brought his arms up as the attack caught him full on. He was shot back and grit his teeth from the pain of the small but incalculable number of lightening needles that struck him. When the assault ended, he looked up only to be met by a wave of lightening courtesy of the rajin. He was blown back and couldn't help but cry of slightly from the feeling of the electricity running through his body. Not willing to give Naruto any time to recover Sasuke put his sword away for a moment and ran through hand signs.

"**Lightening style, thunder arc!**" He cried out as he thrust his hands towards Naruto. Lightening erupted from his palms and struck Naruto. Naruto cried out as he was suspended in mid air and forced to endure the severe amount of pain being inflicted upon his body. He was just able to get his hands together to form his favored seal.

"**Shadow clone jutsu!**" Naruto shouted as clones formed. The clones were dispersed as soon as they were created but they served their purpose. They acted as a momentary shield just long enough for Naruto to slip through the technique.

Sasuke ceased his jutsu and rushed forward to attack. Naruto jumped into the air, still needing time to recover from the previous attack. Sasuke was not to be denied and jumped up and grabbed Naruto by the ankle. He whipped the blonde shinobi down onto the water. Naruto jumped up but was too late to avoid Sasuke's follow up attack. Sasuke flew down and slammed his foot into Naruto's head. So powerful was the blow that Naruto was sent down into the water, creating a single hole in the otherwise still water's surface.

Sasuke stood over the hole as water erupted up through it. He was sure that Naruto had been injured after that series of attacks, though he hadn't come out of it unscathed either. He could feel that he had a few cracked ribs from being slammed chest first into the rocks. He should have been having a harder time breathing than he was. He contributed this strange situation to the dark energy coursing through his body. It seemed that his body was much more resilient.

'This is just the beginning as well. I will receive even more power once I go to Orochimaru. Then nothing will be able to stand in the way of my revenge' Sasuke thought as a sneer appeared on his face.

Sasuke was broken from his thoughts when he saw a bright light appeared under the water. He was shocked to see that the light was encompassing a massive area of the water. He had no more time to wonder what was coming when a giant, white dragon burst of energy erupted from the water completely consuming Sasuke's body. The explosion was so great that the cliff walls began to crack and crumple. The water itself split down the middle from the blast. After it subsided Naruto slowly climbed out of the water and looked around for Sasuke. He had wounds littering his body and his blood was lightly fall down his shirtless chest. He was also panting a bit from unleashing so much power at once. The dragon storm attack was still very draining despite being infused by the divine chakra.

He wasn't exactly sure whether or nor Sasuke would be in one piece after that last attack. He had put a considerable amount of energy in the dragon storm attack he had just unleashed against his opponent. Thought he would lose no sleep over Sasuke's death, he wanted to be sure that Sasuke was no longer a threat. He looked around but couldn't find the Uchiha.

"Where are you Uchiha. Don't tell me you're running away!" Naruto shouted only to be answered with silence. He began to wonder whether or not Sauske really had been incinerated by that last attack.

'No he's still here, but where will he attack from?' Naruto thought as he looked all around him. He also looked high into the air, wondering if Sasuke may have taken flight. Naruto got his answer as to the location of Sasuke when he heard him surface behind him. He was just finishing his hand signs.

"**Flame Canon!**"

Acting on instinct, Naruto thrust his right arm forward as if to block the flames. He was shocked when he saw the black dragon tattoo that was around his eye wrap around his arm and unleash the same white beam of divine chakra that he had sent against Makaze not too long ago.

Both Naruto and Sauke were hit by the other's attack. Naruto felt the intense heat as he was thrown into the solid stone wall. Sasuke would swear that the chakra beam hitting him was actually eating away at his skin. What he was feeling was the negative energy coursing through his body reacting adversely to the purity of the divine chakra.

They both shakily got to their feet. Their wounds were accumulating quickly and they were beginning to feel the adverse affects of the potent chakra running through their veins. Sasuke had trained long and hard in his second curse mark form but he had never been as beaten and battered as he was at the moment. His weary body was having difficulty keeping the powerful but destructive chakra in check. Naruto had never reached this level of power in the physical realm. While it's true he had fought Makaze with this power before, the mindscape and physical plane were different and his body wouldn't be able to contain the power for very much longer.

Sasuke grabbed his rajin with both hands and began to concentrate. His dark purple chakra appeared around him and began to grow. He felt the tainted chakra within him. It fed off of his hate of his brother and his desire to be the best. He then pushed the dark energy into his blade. The rajin was now completely black in color and the sound it made was nearly deafening. He looked up and stared at Naruto. The silent challenge easily received by the blonde genin.

Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the divine chakra swirling within him. He could feel the power in every breath he took. He could feel it as if it were a part of his very soul. He grabbed his blade tightly as he began to move the chakra from his system to his sword. He felt the blade give him a mental equivalent of a nod of understanding. They were in this fight together and if this final blow was to be the deciding factor then they would stand together. A second dragon tattoo appeared on Naruto's body and wrapped around his left arm while the initial tattoo was still wrapped around his right. His blade glowed brightly as the divine chakra began to swirl and strengthen the blade. He looked up at Sasuke and both prepared themselves.

They jumped at the same time. Their eyes never left the others as Sasuke raised his blade up above his head in a doubled handed grip. Naruto held his blade to the side also in a double grip. Sasuke slashed down as Naruto slashed across his body and the blades connected. The sky darkened and the ground began to rumble from the massive power coming into contact with one another.

The explosion of power was blinding. Golden white chakra clashed with tainted dark purple and the two forces pushed back and forth between one another, neither giving an inch. The two chakras formed a dome around the two genin as the blade lock broke and they turned to attack their opponent. Sasuke slashed Naruto from shoulder to hip, leaving a deep gash. Naruto returned the favor as he nearly bisected Sasuke at the waist. The chakra dome exploded as the two chakras, neither being able to overpower the other, simply canceled one another out in an expulsion of power.

Naruto very slowly got to his feet and immediately fell to his knees. He looked around for Sasuke, giving little thought to how battered his body was. He was surprised to see Sasuke at the top of the cliff wall. It seemed that while Naruto was blown downward, Sasuke was sent high into the air. Naruto stood to his feet and nearly fell once again from the pain of the deep slash across his body. Ignoring the pain he jumped to the top of the cliff face. He turned to see that Sasuke was still conscious and in worse shape than he was in.

Sasuke's cloths were in tatters and he was badly wounded. He was currently only able to get to his knees and glare that Naruto, though he was still in his second curse seal form. Naruto's chakra cloak had protected him from the worst of the explosion, but Sauske had no such protection. So while they were both heavily damaged, Naruto was still superior in remaining chakra reserves and endurance, the two things that would be the key factors in determining the victor of this fight.

"You know you can't win Sasuke, give up." Naruto said simply with a pant of exhaustion.

"Never!" Sasuke shouted as he shakily got to his feet and brought his blade up once again.

"Very well then. **Piercing Shadow Jutsu**." Naruto called out as Sasuke's eyes widened. He found himself in a sphere of complete darkness. His sharingan eyes told him that this was no simple genjutsu it was a high powered ninjutsu.

'Where does he get this power from?! I have been training none stop for months preparing for this battle and yet he still has the power to use this sort of technique?' Sasuke thought in rage and disbelief.

"You've lost Uchiha." Naruto's voice said from somewhere in the dome. Sasuke turned in all direction trying to find Naruto by his voice. He cried out when he felt a blade slash him in the back. He turned and slashed his blade but hit nothing. He then felt the same blade go through his shoulder. Sasuke cried out in pain and anger.

'I've got to do something!' He thought desperately.

"**Dragon Strike**."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he brought his blade up to protect him as he wasn't sure where the attack would come from. He was surprised when he didn't feel the attack come immediately.

"Surprised? Don't be, as my attack is dependent upon my will. Right now it's currently slowly moving around you, waiting to strike." Naruto's voice said.

Sasuke now felt a surge of fear run through him. Without being able to see the danger his nerves were on high alert. The anticipation of the attack was eating away at him.

'Where is it going to come from?!' He thought as he began to panic. He stood stock still when he felt as if a giant predator was currently right behind him, waiting for him to turn and meet his fate. Sasuke brought his blade around quickly in anticipation, only to discover that the dragon shaped blast was never there to begin with. He was close enough to see that he was staring as Naruto. He had no time to ponder this before Naruto punched him in the face and threw him back into the waiting jaws of the dragon strike he had created earlier. The beast clamped down into Sasuke and exploded.

Naruto let the jutsu drop and fought against the wave of disorientation that normally accompanied the cancelation of the piercing shadow. It was also due to the fact that he was low on chakra. He had never controlled a dragon strike to that degree and it took a fair amount of control and chakra to accomplish. He looked over at Sasuke and knew that the fight was coming to an end. The Uchiha was barely able to stand to his feet and it was obvious that he was not in a position to attack.

"You think that this battle is over?! No Naruto this is not the end." Sasuke said as he began to gather about half of his remaining chakra.

"**Fire style: Hounds of the Underworld!**" Sasuke shouted out as he opened his mouth wide and a huge blast of fire exploded from it. The fire took the forms of large canines that were rushing towards Naruto in a river of fire. This was Sasuke's ultimate fire technique.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock at the high powered attack. he could tell that this jutsu was a desperation attack but that didn't make it any less dangerous. He could see that the attack was far too powerful for him to survive should he remain where he was. However, he couldn't move either for one very simple reason. He looked behind him and saw that Hinata's body was still resting in the same position as before. If he were to move, then she would be caught in the attack and killed.

'What am I going to do?!' Naruto thought as he felt the intense heat as the attack came closer.

'_Naruto!_'

'Drac?' Naruto thought as he heard his first summoned dragon speak to him.

'_Use my power!_'

Naruto had no time to ponder what Drac meant as the fire attack was nearly upon him. Naruto raised his blade above his head and decided to trust in his sword and summoned beast. Unbeknownst to Naruto his chakra cloak had turned red and his eyes took on the same color scheme of Drac's. His sword was no longer gold and white but had changed as well. The gold coloring became red and the white turned to black. The twin dragons that made up the pommel of the sword changed until they resembled miniature version of Drac himself. Twin red chakra wings spread behind Naruto and pulled back as if in preparation to flap forward.

"**Dragon's Inferno!**" Naruto shouted as he called out Drac's ultimate move. He swung his blade down as the two wings behind him flapped forward. A blast of fire came from each wing as well as the sword the blasts converged in mid air and combined to form a massive wave of fire that took the shape of a dragon's head. The attack came just in time to collide with Sasuke's ultimate fire attack. The two attacks collided and Naruto had the foresight to run and grab Hinata before the inevitable explosion of fire could hit him. Unfortunately, Sasuke's eyes warned him as well and he too escaped.

Naruto's chakra cloak began to dissipate as he had used up far too much chakra to keep it. His body was too weary to hold the divine chakra any longer. He looked down at Hinata's sleeping form and breathed a sigh of relief and gave a silent thanks to Drac. Without him, one of them would surely have perished in that attack. Naruto looked over and saw Sasuke was back in his original body. He too could no longer keep up his ascended form after expending so much chakra and taking so much damage.

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked down and was greeted by the captivating lavender eyes of Hinata. For a moment he allowed himself to simply enjoy holding her. He wrapped his arms around her and couldn't help but think about what could have happened should he have failed.

Sasuke watched on in utter fury. No matter how he looked at it, he had failed. He had enough chakra left for two mid level jutsus at the most and then he would be finished. The rajin had returned to its original white coloring. He looked on and knew that Naruto had more chakra and stamina left. Though he was obviously in bad shape as well it did nothing to consol Sasuke of the fact that all of his training had been for nothing.

'Was it all for nothing? I trained day in and day out for months on end. I pushed my body beyond the breaking point every day. I let nothing distract me from my goal. I gave up all emotion except for anger, pride, rage, and fury for these were the only ones that would give me strength. And in the end it wasn't enough. How can I hope to avenge my family when I can't even defeat the one genin whose skill a year and a half ago was laughable at best?! It isn't fair!' Sasuke thought in absolute rage. Why did Naruto have such strength? Why was he allowed so much power when he lacked the hatred and rage that drove Sasuke? Why was he allowed such strength and also have the love and affection of others?

Sasuke had always kept distance between himself and others not only because he thought himself superior, but also because he felt that having close ties with anyone would only bring weakness. In his mind, the only way to achieve the power he needed was to go it alone. He had no time for family or friends. What would they accomplish anyway? He had already lost his family and thought that it would be impossible to have true happiness once again along with the power he sought.

Kakashi had told him that he would have to choose between his revenge and having a happy content life. What he didn't know was that Kakashi had been subtly trying to tell him that true strength would come from the second option. Sasuke, not wanting to believe that he would be able to care for others and still have the strength and will to defeat his brother, had not heeded Kakashi's words.

'Why do you have strength and the love of others while I don't Naruto? It's not fair!' Sasuke thought. His mind was not capable of admitting that he himself was at fault, thus he decided to blame Naruto. He couldn't stand that Naruto was gaining all of the things that he had strived for. It infuriated him beyond words.

He rushed forward with a cry of fury. Naruto, seeing Sasuke coming, placed Hinata behind him and gave her his tattered trench coat as her dress had been ruined by Sasuke. Naruto stood tall and made no move to dodge Sasuke's slash until the Uchiha was right in front of him. He ducked under the blade and punch Sasuke as hard as he could in his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of the Uchiha and driving him to his knees.

"You're pathetic Sasuke. All this time you strive to be better than me and when you come up short all you can do is blame others for your on weakness." Naruto said with disdain.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned and was shocked and angry when he saw an Anbu restraining Hinata from behind. He held a kunai to her throat and by the pressure being applied, Naruto knew he meant business. He could also tell that this wasn't one of Tsunade's anbu as his mask was radically different from regular anbu ninja.

"Let her go!" Naruto snarled in anger. This was not good. He was very low on chakra and had just gotten finished with a long and tiring battle. He didn't have the strength to fight against a fresh anbu. Truthfully, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to fight against an anbu even if he were at full strength.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke questioned as he got to his feet.

"I was sent as backup in case you couldn't handle the demon. Danzo-sama ordered it." The anbu said in a tone that held an utter lack of emotion.

'Danzo?' Naruto thought in suspicion at the name of the bandaged older man that had attempted to take his blade away from him.

"I don't need your help!" Sasuke shouted.

"The current circumstances prove you wrong. It seems that you are not able to fulfill your end of the agreement. Uzumkai drop your sword." The anbu calmly stated.

Naruto was unsure of what to do. He couldn't fight Sasuke and the Anbu together and hope to win. What worried him even more than that problem was how to save Hinata. If he made any threatening moves then she might be killed. He dropped his sword and saw Sasuke walk to pick it up.

He was saved from having to figure it out what his next plan of action would be when Hinata tapped the Anbu's left leg with her fingertips. It wasn't enough to hurt him but she was able to add a bit of chakra to deliver a weak jukken strike to the Anbu's leg. The leg buckled and he began to fall. Hinata swiftly ducked under the kunai still in his hand and jumped to the side. Naruto saw the moment that the Anbu was about to fall and immediately struck. He did a backwards mull kick to Sasuke's chest causing him to drop his sword. Naruto grabbed the blade out of the air and immediately used the opportunity Hinata gave him as the Anbu was off balance.

"**Dragon Strike!**" Naruto shouted as he used a good chunk of his remanding chakra to unleash the attack. The anbu made a desperation jump to the side, but the right side of his body was still struck by the blast. The anbu was blown back and rolled on the ground. Hinata came up to Naruto and helped him to his feet as he was teetering after unleashing the attack.

"Hinata-chan we're going to have to take care of both of them if we're going to get out of here. I'll take the Anbu as Sasuke's almost out of chakra." Naruto said.

"No Naruto-kun, let me have the Anbu. Despite that blow he's still going to be stronger than either of us. If the Uchiha is really as weakened as you say then you should finish him off as quickly as you can. I'll hold off the Anbu until you can come and help me." Hinata said with a tone and look in her eyes that told him he wasn't going to win the argument against her. He gave her a smile and moved in for a quick kiss, but she stopped him.

"Not yet Naruto-kun. You'll have to wait until we make it out of this for that." She said softly as she traced his whisker marks. Naruto gave her a pout but obeyed her request. He quickly handed his sword to Hinata, believing that she would need it more than he would. He could defeat Sasuke without it. He turned and walked over to where Sasuke was getting to his feet. Hinata activated her byakugan as the Anbu got to his feet. His left leg was regaining its feeling and the dragon strike hadn't taken as much out of him as she would have liked.

"Let's end this Sasuke." Naruto said as he fell into the true dragon taijutsu stance.

Sasuke looked up at him in rage. He would not lose to Naruto! He was to be the best and the only way to achieve that was to defeat the blonde that always seemed to be standing in his way. He hated Naruto's stern stare. It was if he had already believed that he was the victor. As long as Sasuke had breath in his body he refused to be defeated by Naruto. What did Naruto know about loss? What did he know about true pain? He wanted Naruto to experience true pain. He wanted the blonde irritant to know what it felt like to lose everything. He wanted to stand over Naruto as he realized that his dreams of being Hokage were never to be that his goal, like Sasuke's would never be realized should he fail here. Sasuke wanted Naruto determined eyes to hold true despair.

He attacked widely. Without his sword, Naruto was at a disadvantage in terms of range and Sasuke was taking advantage of it. However, Naruto was not going to let this fight last too long as he could hear Hinata struggling against the Anbu. He ducked underneath Sasuke's blow and head butted the Uchiha. He moved quickly and punched Sasuke in the chest. He grabbed the Uchiha's head and slammed his knee into his face. Sasuke jumped back and quickly ran through hand signs.

"**Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!**"

Naruto was surprised that Sasuke had enough chakra left to use such a jutsu and jumped back as the fireball flew at him. It was much smaller than he could normally have made but it was still an attack to be avoided. Naruto looked up as Sasuke slashed him in the side. Naruto cried out in pain as electricity ran through his body and he fell to his knees, though he was able to deliver a snap kick to Sasuke's head before he fell to the earth.

Hinata was having a hard time with the Anbu ninja. He had pulled out a standard issue katana and was crossing blades with her. However, she was not very well versed in the art of swordsmanship. Luckily, it seemed that the Anbu wasn't planning to kill her. He was making no killing blows and only seemed to be trying to subdue her. She didn't know that the reason behind this was because Danzo had ordered both she and Naruto be brought back alive.

She ducked under a slash he sent her way as she stabbed her sword towards his chest. He moved to the side, however she moved in and threw a jukken strike at his left leg. She caught the limb once again as her byakugan showed her that it was still slightly slower due to the earlier jukken strike. His leg buckled and she followed up by slashing him across his chest. He jumped back and with one leg jumped towards her in an attempt to knock her sword out of her hands. Both were surprised by the glow of the sword and the wave of chakra that burst from it. Hinata immediately turned off her byakugan before she was blinded by the bright blast of chakra. The anbu was blown back and his sword broke under the powerful wave.

'What was that?' Hinata thought as she looked down at the blade that belonged to Naruto.

Sasuke slowly got to his feet and saw that Naruto was having trouble standing up. Sasuke's hate and frustration continued to grow as Naruto shakily got to his feet. They attacked one another again and began to trade blows. Naruto kicked the rajin out of Sasuke's hands. Sasuke retaliated by punching Naruto in the face. They continued to trade blows and soon both were shakily standing, attempting to outlast the other. Both were nearly without chakra and could barely see straight, but still they battled on. There could one be one victor and both were determined to be that victor.

Sasuke could slowly but surely see that Naruto was winning the fight. He was giving just as many blows but they seemed to not be affecting Naruto as much as the blows he was receiving. He didn't understand it! Where was Naruto getting this power from? How was it that he always found the strength to come out victorious?! It wasn't fair. Even now as they were trading blows he saw no look of desperation in Naruto's gaze. He only saw determination and a will to win but the thing that infuriated him the most was the look of indifference. Sasuke hated Naruto's eyes with a passion. They constantly reminded him that in Naruto's mind, he was nothing more than another enemy. He wasn't seen as a rival or even a roadblock to accomplish his goal. To Naruto, Sasuke was irrelevant.

Sasuke couldn't stand being considered irrelevant. His whole life he had lived in his brother's shadow. He was never Sasuke, simply Itachi's brother. No one saw him for himself. He always wanted to be seen for who he was. After Itachi slaughtered his clan he was the last of the Uchiha. While he was upset over the way that women seemed to only like him for his looks or status he did enjoy the attention given to him by the village. Finally people were seeing him just for him. Not because of what his brother had done, but because of his abilities. He got used to being considered the best in class. He subtly enjoyed how he was seen as the best of the best and the standard that other's should strive to become like. That Naruto refused to view him the same way was one of the things he despised the most.

'I hate those eyes! I want nothing more than to wipe that look for superiority and confidence off of his face!' Sasuke thought as he kicked Naruto and quickly rushed towards his sword. Naruto was fast on his heels and jumped towards him as Sasuke grabbed his blade and threw it with all his might. Naruto saw the blade twirling towards him and was able to move just in time to avoid being pierced through the chest. Naruto was confused when he saw Sasuke's smirk. Naruto turned and followed Sasuke's eyes.

He came face to face with Hinata. The rajin was buried to the hilt into her chest.

"H-Hinata?" Naruto said in a low disbelieving tone.

"Naruto-kun…" She said as she fell to her knees.

Naruto immediately grabbed her and pulled the lightening blade from her chest. He laid her down and began looking for a way to patch up the hole in her chest. He was moving with desperation to do something, anything to save her!

"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata said softly as she raised a hand towards his face. Tears were running down her eyes but not from the pain of death but from the realization that this would be the last time she would be able to look at her beloved. This would be the last time she would be able to stare into his perfect blue eyes, see his smile that could brighten even the darkest situation, the last time she could hold him close and feel his warm body against her own.

"Hold on Hinata! You'll be alright! Just hold on!" Naruto said as his voice began to crack and his breathing became erratic. He was unaware of the endless river of tears flowing down his face. He couldn't figure out what to do! There had to be something he could do!

"No I won't. You were never that great of a liar Naruto-kun." Hinata said lowly with a small smile as her eyes began to take a dull tone to them.

"Yes you will! I won't let you go!" Naruto shouted to her as he felt his heart shattering. He suddenly got a thought and contacted Kyuubi. He quickly entered his mindscape and ran full stream towards the seal that kept the fox in check.

"Kyuubi!" Naruto yelled.

"**What is it kit?**" The fox replied, though its tone was subdued and almost sorrowful.

"Hurry and heal her like you always do me! I'll transfer some of your chakra to her body!" Naruto shouted in a rush.

"**I can't do that kit.**"

"WHY NOT?! If this is some crap about not caring about puny humans then I swear I will kill myself and take you with me!" Naruto shouted in fury.

"**That's not the reason. I can only heal you as I am sealed within your body and your chakra coils have grown used to the demonic chakra that runs through it. To force my chakra into another's body would do nothing more than cause extreme pain as their chakra coils were burned and rendered useless by my demonic energy.**" Kyuubi said as he closed his eyes and a solemn look came across his face.

"There's nothing you can do?" Naruto said as he fell to his knees in despair and for the first time felt that it was truly hopeless.

"**For what it's worth kit, I am sorry.**" Kyuubi said as Naruto's mindscape disappeared and he was once again in the real world and held Hinata's body.

Naruto couldn't believe it. He wouldn't allow himself to believe it! There had to something he could do! He wouldn't let her die! Not Hinata, not the one who became his first friend. The first person to allow him into her heart and showed him what it meant to truly love another beyond comprehension! She couldn't leave him like this!

"H-Hinata don't go." Naruto said softly in a horribly broken tone. He was close to a nervous breakdown.

Hinata shakily took his head and broke him down into a kiss. Naruto crushed his lips onto hers and held her as if she was his only lifeline to keeping his sanity, which wasn't far from the truth. He felt the same cold heavy feeling taking over his body and constricting his chest. He felt as if he couldn't breathe and was drowning.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. I would have loved nothing more than to have grown old with you. To one day marry you and see you become Hokage. I… will always…. love you…Naruto-kun." Hinata said softly as her eyes slowly closed, heedless to the screaming of Naruto to keep her eyes open.

Naruto, wide eyed and with an expression that truly expressed a shattered soul, slowly raised a shaking hand and grabbed the indigo head band that he had given her such a long time ago. He pulled it down and could only watch in horrid fascination as the green caged bird seal on her forehead disappeared locking her byakugan away for all time and locking the truth in Naruto's heart that Hinata Yuhi, the love of his life was dead.

****

**Till next time, Kyuubi123 out.**


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

Sasuke smiled as he looked down at Naruto. He picked up his rajin and deactivated the blade. He had finally done it! He had finally defeated Naruto. The look in the blonde's eyes was nothing short of a look of utter despair and loss. He had broken Naruto and finally achieved some form of victory.

"Danzo-sama ordered them both to be brought back alive." The Anbu said as he limped up behind Sasuke.

"He also wanted Naruto's spirit broken. I couldn't achieve both objectives so I settled with the one that Danzo cared more about." Sasuke said with a snort. He turned to walk away.

"Where are you going?" The anbu asked him.

"I'm going to meet up with Orochimaru and begin training with him. I've given you what you wanted and upheld my end of the bargain." Sasuke replied.

It was true. Naruto looked broken. He had not made a sound nor had he moved an inch since Hinata had died. He simply remained kneeling beside her body, his unblinking eyes frozen on the face of his lost love.

Many would assume that Naruto would be experiencing a feeling of loss so drastic that words would be unable to define the pain; however this was not the case. Naruto neither felt pain, loss, hate, anger or any such emotion. The reasoning for this was simple. Naruto's heart had died with Hinata. He felt absolutely nothing, though he did register a slight headache forming. He was dimly aware of Sasuke and the anbu conversing but paid no mind to what they were saying, he just continued to stare into the peaceful face of his fallen love. His mind was continually replaying those last precious moments he had with her while he continued to shed a never ending river of tears.

Naruto finally moved when he grabbed his blade from beside Hinata. In some distant part of his mind where he was still aware of the outside world, he felt the blade's sadness as well; it wouldn't be able to do anything to help her. Naruto placed the blade on his chest and wrapped her hands around the handle, leaving her in a position that was reminiscent of a Viking's funeral. He pulled off his head band and softly laid it onto of the blade. He tied Hinata's indigo head band around his head and gave her one final kiss. He looked up and found himself face to face with the Kyuubi in his mindscape.

"How much can I handle?" Naruto asked in a dead tone. His voice was just as dead as his eyes.

"**Currently your body can only handle about the same amount that Makaze used against you safely.**" The fox responded after a moment of thought. He wasn't sure whether he truly wanted to allow Naruto to use his chakra. In his battered state, he was taking a big risk of overloading his chakra system and killing them both, however, the fox could tell that trying to deny Naruto anything currently would be for naught. Naruto no longer cared whether or not his lived or died and the fox could see it in his eyes. Trying to deny him would only result in Naruto taking the chakra by force which would assuredly kill them both. The red chakra cloak appeared around Naruto and the tail and two fox ears extended from the concentrated cloak of chakra.

Sasuke stopped walking when he felt a massive wave of chakra erupt from Naruto. The chakra was far different from the pure but powerful divine chakra he had been using before. This chakra held within it a feeling of bloodlust, hatred, rage and malicious intent. So powerful were these emotions that Sasuke was forced to his knees. Strangely enough, he saw that none of the emotions were visible in Naruto's eyes. There were the same dull, lifeless orbs that he had possessed since Hinata's passing. The feeling he was experiencing was coming from the Kyuubi inside of him.

Sasuke jumped up and activated his sword as well as his sharingan. He jumped back and prepared himself. He knew that he was in deep trouble. His body was far from one hundred percent from the previous battle and barley had enough chakra left to keep his sharingan active. Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him and punched him with enough force to sending him through one of the trees that surrounded the valley. Naruto stalked over to his prey. He knew that he should feel something when he saw Sasuke. He had expected to feel hatred, mind numbing rage, or an overwhelming urge to eviscerate him, but he felt none of these things when he saw Sasuke. When he saw Sasuke all he saw was an insect that wasn't worth his ire. No the floodgates that held back the tidal wave of emotion were only to be unleashed when he met the one who was the cause of all of this, Danzo. He felt the weight of his suppressed emotions pressing to be released. The human mind deals with trauma in different ways. It can block painful memories completely or simply shut them out for a short period of time until it is able to deal with the experience. The latter was happening to Naruto. His mind had blocked the torrent of negative emotions and feelings until it was better able to release them.

He no longer thought on this as he rushed towards Sasuke. He may not care about the Uchiha enough to unleash the full fury of his anger but that didn't mean he was going to survive any more than Danzo was. Sasuke attempted to stab Naruto in the chest. It was a desperation move and they both knew it. Sasuke was out of chakra and being thrown through a tree didn't help his disposition either. Naruto made no move to dodge. He grabbed the rajin with his hands and looked at it for a moment. This was the second time the legendary blade had been used against him and hurt the ones he loved. He thought it lost during the wave mission when it had first been used against him. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice and snapped the blade of lightening between his hands. He kicked Sasuke with enough force to break a majority of his ribs. He picked up the dropped handle and crushed it with one hand. The legendary rajin would never be used again.

Naruto looked down at the pathetic ninja attempting to get to his feet. A small portion of his anger began to seep through the mental block he had placed over his emotions. Hinata didn't deserve to die at the hands of such a poor excuse of a shinobi. Naruto wasn't ignorant of the life he lived and knew that there was a chance of Hinata or even himself dying in battle, but he hated that the one to kill such a beautiful spirit like her to be someone like Sasuke.

Naruto took a deep breath and forced his anger back. He had to wait. He knew once he opened himself fully to his repressed emotions, then he would forever be lost to the utter fury and madness that would consume him. He couldn't afford to lose control yet. He picked Sasuke up by one of his legs and threw him into the air. He created a crimson hand of chakra to grabbed Sasuke and slammed him into the ground. He then proceeded to break both his arms and then his legs, ignoring the screams of pain coming from the mouth of the Uchiha. He grabbed Sasuke by one of his broken legs and calmly dragged him over to the edge of the cliff. He held him up by his neck and stared at the poor excuse of a shinobi in front of him.

'Kyuubi.' Naruto thought.

"**What is it?**" The fox asked.

'What did you say would happen should I forcible injected your chakra into someone?' Naruto asked.

"**Without being used to such tainted chakra like you are, the chakra would burn through their chakra coils rendering them forever useless.**" The fox replied with a sneer as he understood what Naruto had in mind.

'Painful?' Naruto asked.

"**Excruciatingly**." The fox assured.

'Good.' Naruto thought as he raised his right hand and laid it over Sasuke's forehead. Sasuke was in intense pain already from his broken ribs and mangled arms and legs. His gaze was blurry but he could still make out Naruto's emotionless stare.

"What are you planning to do? I know the council has ordered me to be brought back alive. I wonder what they will think when I tell them you went berserk with the fox's power and killed me and your pretty little girlfriend." Sasuke said with a sneer.

Naruto's stare sharpened slightly but only a brief flash of anger went through his empty eyes. Sasuke's comments were making it very difficult for Naruto to hold back the waves of fury he was restraining.

"Dead men tell no tales." Naruto said as he injected demonic chakra into Sasuke's chakra system.

If Sasuke thought he was in pain before, he would now know the true meaning of utter agony. He felt the tainted chakra spread through his system, burning through his chakra coils and leaving them useless. It felt as if liquid fire was running through his entire being. So intense was the pain that Sasuke's mouth could only hang open in utter agony as not a word passed through his lips. His sharingan deactivated as the coils around his eyes were the last to be destroyed. Sasuke had forever lost his sharingan unless he was to find a healer of Tsunade's caliber who would be able to repair his chakra coils. However, this was assuming that he survived the encounter with Naruto, which was doubtful at best. The only reason he wasn't dead yet was because Naruto could really decide how he wanted to go about ending him.

Suddenly figuring out just how he wanted the Uchiha to suffer, Naruto used his chakra tail to wrap around one of Sasuke's arms. The chakra appendage burned through Sasuke's shirt and began to burn through his limp. Sasuke's throat was far to horse to utter a sound, but the pain was evident in his eyes. Naruto's tail didn't stop until it had completely severed the arm at the elbow. The crimson chakra was so powerful that it cauterized the wound, leaving no chance of a painless death through bleeding out of the stump that made up Sasuke's left arm. Naruto repeated this process with the rest of Sasuke's limbs until he held a limbless torso in his hand. He had been injecting a minute amount of chakra into Sasuke to keep him conscious. He didn't want him to have any sanctuary from the pain. He slowly created a crimson rasengan in his free hand.

"You will roam the afterlife blind, deaf and dumb and all the dead shall now that here is Sasuke Uchiha, the fool who thought he could kill what was mine and survive. Die slowly Uchiha." Naruto said as he slammed the rasengan into Sasuke's chest and threw what was left of Sasuke over the cliff. He watched as the body slowly disappeared under the water.

'How could it end like this? How could I lose to him? It isn't fair! I am an Uchiha!' Sasuke thought as darkness forever overtook him. His last thoughts refusing to acknowledge the fact that despite what family one was born into, it is up to the person to define themselves in this world.

Naruto watched as Sasuke's body dropped out of sight before he looked up. He grabbed his head and fell to his knees. It was taking everything he had to keep his mind clear. He had to hold on just a little while longer before he unleashed the fury that was wearing down his mental blocks. He looked up and saw that the anbu had left. With a snarl of rage he closed his eyes and used his enhanced sense of smell to locate the Anbu. He looked up and ran full speed after the anbu. He caught up with him easily as the anbu was still injured from his fight with Danzo. Naruto sent his chakra tail through the anbu's good leg, severing the limb at the knee. Naruto then walked calmly up the fallen ninja and turned him onto his back. He grabbed the anbu by his throat and lifted him until they were face to face.

"Where is Danzo?" Naruto snarled as he felt his mental dams breaking. He was running out of time quickly.

The anbu remained silent. He hadn't even uttered a sound of pain when his leg as been sliced off. Root anbu were trained to feel no emotion and to acknowledge no pain. This didn't make them impervious to pain, but they were better able to disregard it.

Undeterred by his silence, Naruto raised his left hand and inflicted five deep slash wounds to the anbu's face. The anbu cringed and had to visibly restrain himself from crying out, especially considering one of Naruto's claws tore out his left eye. However, he refused to say anything.

Naruto began to growl in anger. He needed the location now! He was already trembling as his control was witling away into nothing. He couldn't lose it yet! He had to get the location of Danzo first.

"**Kit**."

'Kyuubi? What is it?' Naruto thought to his tenant.

"**Bring him here.**"

Naruto didn't question the fox. He closed his eyes and brought his left hand to the anbu's face. He pulled both of them into his mindscape and found himself in front of the fox's gate. The anbu was frozen in fear at the sight of the eternal force of nature. A malicious smile spread across Kyuubi's face as he focused his killing intent of the anbu shinobi. The anbu could no longer breathe. His chest felt as if it was being crushed under the indescribable pressure of the fox's blood lust alone.

"I…cannot…tell you." The anbu was able to barley force through his lips. He could no longer take the presence of the fox. No amount of training would ever be able to prepare someone to be in the presence of the most powerful demon in known existence.

"Why not." Naruto snarled as he began to slowly crush the anbu's throat, though he was sure to give him enough room to talk. The anbu didn't reply. He simply opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. There imprinted on his tongue was a seal.

"That seal prevents you from telling us anything?" Naruto asked. The anbu nodded in affirmation.

"What am I going to do now?!" Naruto roared as he felt his own hope of finding his prey was now gone.

"**Calm down kit. There is another way.**" Kyuubi said.

"And what is that?" Naruto asked.

"**Throw the weaklings mind to me.**" Was the fox's only reply, though his eyes began to glow and his grin became a fully malicious smile.

Naruto had a good idea what was about to happen, but couldn't care in the least. He grabbed the anbu and hurled him towards the gate. The anbu didn't even have time to scream before he disappeared in the fox's jaws. Kyuubi closed his eyes for a moment before he found what he was looking for. Whether or not the anbu told them what they wanted to know was irrelevant when the fox could simply consume his very mind and find the information they sought.

"**I've got the location.**" Kyuubi said.

Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the information that Kyuubi sent to him. Once he was completely focused on the location that housed the one who orchestrated this whole catastrophe, he unleashed the full fury of his emotions. With the mental gates now gone, Naruto lost himself in his feelings. This was the reason he had waited until he knew Danzo's location. His consciousness was now gone. Rage, anger, fury, sadness, and pain now ruled him. His eyes glowed bright red as his mind was ruled by one single goal. One single goal was now the entire focus of his being. The goal was simple, find Danzo and kill him.

Kyuubi watched as his container was overwhelmed by his emotions. His bright red eyes now rivaled the fox's on in terms of the amount of shear fury and rage he saw in them. He was well aware that as of this moment, his container's mind was gone, shattered from the loss of his mate and ruled only by his desire to get revenge on the ones responsible. Kyuubi's respect for Naruto had actually increased after seeing how long the boy was able to hold back and control the all encompassing rage that now held him. Had he released this against the Uchiha earlier, he would never be able to find the location of Danzo for the simple reason that he would have slaughtered Sasuke and the anbu immediately and with no thought as to how to go about finding Danzo's location. This was the only reason that Naruto had shut his emotions away in the first place.

"**Go now kit. Kill all those responsible!**" Kyuubi roared at the hate filled youth. Naruto was truly beyond the ability to comprehend words; however, he did seem to understand the fox through its roar of anger.

Naruto opened his crimson eyes and fell on all fours. He sniffed the air and slowly walked back to Hinata's body. He gave a low vulpine whine of pain as a torrent of tears began to fall from his eyes once again. He looked to the sky and let loose a roar of pain, sorrow and fury that was felt from miles away. The crimson chakra surrounding him flared with power and soon he was off running full speed in the direction that would take him to Danzo.

Nothing was going through the mind of the enraged genin other than to kill the one who had orchestrated this whole thing. His heightened senses alerted him that two powerful beings were approaching the spot where he had left his fallen mate. However, his sense of smell told him that they were not hostiles as he recognized them. Thus he continued on his way to slaughter his prey.

The two that Naruto had sensed were Kurenai and Kakashi. They had felt the massive chakra wave that Naruto had emitted and had gone to see if they could help. While Kakashi was far from one hundred percent, he refused to abandon his former student. They were shocked by the amount of damage they saw. Some trees were reduced to splinters, while others were burnt to ashes. The cliff walls were broken and cracked in more places than could be counted. What caught both of their eyes though was the still form of Hinata.

"Hinata!" Kurenai yelled out as she rushed to her. Kakashi lowered his head and he slowly limped towards them. He could already tell what he was going to find. Being a former caption of the anbu forced him to recognize when someone was dead. Tears began to run down his face as he heard the utter heart wrenching anguish that came from Kurenai as she desperately clutched the body of her student and sister to her. He could offer no words of comfort and could only think about having lost another person who had become precious to him.

'How many more must you take before you take pity on me Kami?' Kakashi thought as he looked down at the inconsolable Kurenai. He saw something in the distance that caught his attention. He didn't want to leave Kureani but he knew that there was nothing to be done for the moment. Nothing he would have said would have gotten through the veil of pain and heart ache reflected in her eyes. He walked slowly over to the body of the dead anbu and narrowed his eyes. He recognized the distinctive mask as the one that root anbu wore.

'Danzo! That crippled convening man has made his last mistake!' Kakashi thought in fury as he punched a tree in rage. He grabbed the mask to take back with him. It would be needed as proof. He walked back to Kurenai and saw that she held Hinata's body in her arms and her head was lowered. He walked up to her and gently wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back into him for a moment before she steeled herself and began to walk back to Konoha. Kakashi waited for a moment before he followed. One thought was still bothering him.

'Where are you Naruto?'

Naruto was currently miles away from them running full speed with a single purpose in his chaotic mind. His mind was swirling with a multitude of dark emotions. Hatred, rage sorrow, despair and anger being just a few. He soon found that he was fast approaching Danzo's location. The images in his mind that had come from the fox showed Naruto that Danzo's secret lab was miles outside of Konoha's gates. It wasn't surprising seeing as how Danzo didn't want to have anyone stumble across any of his unauthorized doings. The lab was actually underground in a maze of tunnels that would leave one completely lost if the exact path needed to be traveled wasn't already known. Naruto didn't really care about any of this. He was simply going to break down the door and begin killing anything or anyone that moved.

A feral smile spread across his face as he neared the genjustsu covered entrance. So powerful was this genjutsu that only a very high level ninja such as Kakashi or Kurenai would have a chance to even notice that it was active let alone break it. However, with the demonic chakra surging through his body, Naruto ran right through the sight altering technique and immediately ran towards the two root anbu that had been keeping guard. The guards had felt the intense chakra approaching them but they were unprepared for the speed that Naruto appeared with. He immediately leapt onto one of the guards, and snapped his neck with a viscous twist of his hands. The second guard expressed no concern over the death of his comrade. He rushed forward and pulled out his tanto, standard for all anbu shinobi. However, he failed to realize just how dangerous the fox cloak around Naruto was. Without even turning around, Naruto's chakra tail shot through the anbu's eye killing him instantly.

Naruto looked at the large steel door that held his prey. He raised his hand and shot forth a large red crimson claw. The claw smashed down the door and Naruto sent a roar into the cave entrance that froze the blood of all of the supposed emotionless root shinobi. He rushed through the doorway and made his way towards Danzo, using his powerful nose to tell him where he was, his animalistic mind searching back into his memory of when he met Danzo during the council meeting so long ago. He smiled as he located what he sought after.

**(Danzo's chamber)**

"Danzo-sama the kyuubi container has entered the compound." A kneeling anbu told his superior.

"Has he now? It seems the Uchiha has fallen and failed to uphold his end of the agreement." Danzo said with little concern.

"What are your orders my lord?" the anbu asked.

"Have all our units mobilize and subdue the boy. I want him alive. It's about time that I finally acquire my ultimate weapon." Danzo said as he leaned back in his chair without fear. He had brought his entire root anbu division with him. Over one hundred highly trained ninja now stood between Danzo and his prize. He had felt the added security was needed as he planned to house quite a few hostages. He had planned to have Temari, Ino, Hinata, Haku and Naruto brought to him. He would hold Temari for ransom against the sand village. He would breed future blood limit wielding shinobi through Haku, Hinata and Ino. Finally he would have Naruto's mind wiped of all memories and turned him into the ultimate slave. He then planned to wait a few years to have the boy fully acquire the power of the fox. He would spend that time analyzing the boy's sword and figuring out how to control the dragons that the sword could summon and control.

After all this had taken place, he would stage a coup against the Hokage, discreetly of course. He didn't want a civil war to break out. He would have sent Naruto as his ultimate assassin and have Tsunade and the clan heads sympathetic to the boy killed. He would then plant clan heads that would follow his direction. He would mourn the death of Tsunade and her supporters and step in as the new Hokage. With Naruto and the dragons under his control, no one would dare oppose him. He would rule the leaf village as it should have been for years. He would rule with an iron fist and turn the pathetic village that he saw before him now into the power house that it should have been for so long. He would use Naruto and his blood limit wielding anbu to overtake the other nations. With the kyuubi and the dragons under his control, he would soon rule the ninja world and no one, not even the Akatsuki would have the power to oppose him.

He had sent an extra anbu after Sasuke to assure that the job was completed. He didn't trust Orochimaru and planned to have the snake killed as soon as he had the power he needed. He was sure from Naruto's sudden appearance and the utter blind fury that he was showing that Sasuke and his anbu guard was dead. This didn't concern him as he was assured that he would soon have the boy subdued. He had felt the full force of the charka roar the boy had sent moments earlier and while he was impressed, he knew that it wasn't powerful enough to aid him against so many high powered opponents. It was only a matter of time. He was a bit curious why he hadn't heard from the other anbu guards he had sent out to retrieve the other girls and kill any stragglers that just so happened to defeat Orochimaru's supposed "invincible" sound five.

**(Unknown Location)**

The root anbu lay on the ground, his life blood spilling out of him. He was barely able to raise his head and look at the deceased bodies of his team. They had been sent to retrieve the girls Danzo wanted and kill anyone left alive. Ten men strong and full alert to any danger that may come. They never stood a chance.

The anbu couldn't even pinpoint where their opponent had come from. One minute they were moving as one from the hideout and then suddenly three members of his squad simply disappeared. They had stopped and banded together in preparation of an attack. What they didn't expect was a dark figure to appear in the midst of them in a second and kill another four before the others could react. With only two other members besides himself remaining he ordered them to disperse and attempt to make it back to the hideout. However, as he moved to run, one of his subordinate's head flew off. He and the last remaining anbu stood back to back. They now knew that if they split apart they would die. However, strength in numbers was a rule soon to be proven incorrect. The caption was focused on what was in front of him trusting his subordinate to watch his back.

"Do you see anything?" He asked his remaining ally.

"Nope!" Came an exuberant reply that was defiantly not the voice of his subordinate. Before he could will his frozen body to move, a pitch black blade erupted through his chest. He fell to the ground, coughing up blood.

The anbu was pulled from his memories as he looked up to the figure that had slaughtered his men. All he could see was a figure completely wrapped in a black cloak.

"Who are you?" The anbu wheezed through his mouth.

"Who am I? Well that is a secret!" The mysterious man said in his usual jubilant tone as he swiftly removed the anbu's head. His demeanor soon turned serious as he looked in the direction of the anbu base.

'Naruto.' Was all he thought as he disappeared.

**(Anbu base)**

Naruto was currently running through tunnel after tunnel seeking Danzo. However, Danzo was correct in his thinking that Naruto would not be in the best position to actually get to him. Naruto had killed many anbu already mostly through the use of his element of surprise. Despite knowing that he was coming, the burst of speed that he appeared with was still enough to catch quite a few ninja off guard. However, Naruto was currently avoiding fighting too many opponents at once. Kyuubi or not, he couldn't fight so many highly powered shinobi at once with his current power level. Still, with so many opponents coming towards him, he soon found himself surrounded on all sides.

He ducked under a slash from one opponent and clawed his chest as he jumped up to avoid being tackled by two more ninja who were attempting to catch him from behind. He lashed out with his tail and was able to land a glancing blow on one of the two attackers; however, he was soon hit with a kick to the skull that left him reeling. He quickly jumped up so as not to be ensnared by the chakra draining wires that the root ninja were using. They were adamant about capturing him and if Naruto was honest with himself, they were getting closer and closer. The narrow hallways didn't allow them enough space to use actual jutsu without hurting their allies, but there were just so many of them. They were currently keeping their distance and watching for an opening.

Exhaustion was beginning to set in for Naruto. He had been fighting for so long and his body had truly not fully recovered from his battle with Sasuke. His past wounds were gone but going from using such a large amount of divine chakra to the equally powerful demonic chakra, was leaving his coils under a bit of stress. Added to this was the physical exhaustion he was feeling. He knew that he couldn't win at his current level of power. He needed more!

'**Can't do that kit. Anymore and your coils wouldn't be able to take it. You would probably explode.**' Kyuubi responded to this line of thought. Naruto was beyond using words, but the fox could understand his intent. However, Naruto was ruled by only one thought and that was to kill Danzo. He roared at the fox in his head, telling it in no uncertain terms that he couldn't care less about the risk. What was life without his love anyway?

'**Very well kit.**' Kyuubi said back as he sent even more chakra to his container. The fox wanted to live. Death to an immortal being was even more terrifying as they had never truly faced it before. Still, time spent inside of Naruto had given him a new outlook on things. He still hated humans with a passion, but he couldn't help but get slightly attached with the boy and all those he cared about. To have to watch the girl die and feel the blind fury and immeasurable pain his container was going through, he wanted to make it stop and if he had to risk death to kill the man responsible, then so be it.

'**Show them boy! Show them what it means to enrage a demon!**' Kyuubi roared as Naruto let loose a roar of his own that sent the surrounding anbu through the walls of the hallway. A second chakra tail appeared behind Naruto and his chakra increased greatly. With renewed strength he tore through all of the guards that were in his way. None were spared. The anbu refused to retract and Naruto refused to spare even the wounded.

Naruto was running through anbu after anbu. He had to fight his way for every step he took. Despite his increase in power, the anbu were still battling back with all their power. He was receiving blow after blow as the number of his foes increased. However, he refused to stop and he continued on killing any who approached. He didn't care about the numerous wounds he was accumulating as they would quickly heal. He didn't care about the immense pain he was in as his chakra coils tore from the strain of holding more chakra then they could handle. He didn't care that he was probably killing himself. Nothing mattered except Danzo and his death.

As Naruto came closer to Danzo's location, the anbu guards became slightly desperate. They had been avoiding using their more powerful attacks as they had been told to subdue him and because of the danger such moves posed to their comrades in such enclosed spaces. However, they caught a break when Naruto burst into a huge room. This room was used as the dojo and was where the anbu trained relentlessly to attain their strength. Naruto could tell that Danzo was very close and he needed to cross the large indoor dojo to get to him. However, the remaining fifty anbu guards that were not dead or incapacitated appeared around him.

"Get him!" One of the anbu commanded.

Five guards rushed towards Naruto. They pulled out their swords and attacked in a pattern formation. Naruto roared and rushed toward them seeking to break them apart. They split with two moving to the left and right while one remained in front of the rabid ninja. He stabbed his sword forward. However, Naruto ducked and tore his head off. This is exactly what they wanted to happen. The teams of two anbu had intentionally left their comrade to die as they prepared their attack.

"**Fire style: Fire ball jutsu!**"

"**Water style: Water dragon jutsu!**"

"**Earth style: Mud serpent jutsu!**"

"**Lightening style: Shockwave jutsu!**"

Four high powered techniques struck the unprotected shinobi in the side. Naruto had been so blinded by rage that he couldn't think of anything except the opponent in front of him. He roared in anguish as all the attacks hit home. He fell to his knees as the four anbu rushed to subdue him. Naruto slowly got to his feet and lashed out his with two tails. Two of the anbu were not quick enough and lost limps to the swinging chakra limbs. The final two came close to Naruto and were moments away from stabbing him, in none lethal areas, to end to fight.

Kyuubi was watching all of this from inside of his cage. He knew that despite being stronger than any single one of these anbu, his container would never win if he was so blinded by his emotions that he couldn't fight back properly. He had been lucky up to this point by fighting in narrow corridors where the enemy had attempted to bring him down by sheer numbers and bodies. He was able to tear through them like insects. However, now that they had space to maneuver and properly coordinate their attacks, it wouldn't be long before they actually brought the kid down. Overpowering strength was useless without an equally powerful mind controlling it. Kyuubi thought briefly to the three tailed turtle that was still somewhere in the world. While it was a demon like him and held great power over water it was nothing but a beast in terms of mental capacity and thus was simple enough to escape from or even defeat with the correct battle plan. The fox knew that he had to find Naruto's consciousness and bring it back.

Kyuubi closed his eyes and searched the corridors of Naruto's mind. He knew that the boy's mind was too strong and stubborn to truly fade away completely. Yes it had broken under the pressure of watching his mate die before him, but it hadn't disappeared. It was more like the boy had simply given up on the world and withdrew into himself, allowing his chaotic mind to run rampant. All he needed to do was give it a target to pursue, Danzo.

The fox's mind soon came to a door that had once held Makaze. He entered the door and wasn't surprised when he saw the boy sitting on the floor in front of the bookcase that was the representation of his memories. The boy had volumes of books opened and seemed to be rereading them all. It was obvious to the fox that Naruto was trying to lose himself in the memories that he held of Hinata. Unwilling to face the real world without her in it, he was going to attempt to deny the world and focus on the past.

"**Kit snap out of it!**" Kyuubi sent mentally to the boy. The fox couldn't escape from behind the bars of its cell but it could send its thoughts to Naruto as long as he was in his mindscape.

"Leave me alone." Was the fox's only reply. The statement was neither angry nor upset. Naruto's tone was dead.

"**I would gladly leave you if it was possible. No one should have to endure what you did kit but unfortunately neither of us have the benefit of simply ignoring the outside world. Your body, which you left on auto pilot mind you, is about to fall to the enemy.**" The fox sent to Naruto.

"I don't care." Naruto said as he grabbed another book.

"**I can't say I understand what you are going through kit; however I do know that if you do nothing, your body will be captured by the enemy. They will then most likely wipe your memory and turn you into a weapon.**" Kyuubi said.

"I don't care."

"**Do you care about the others that you consider precious? If they control you who do you think will suffer? You have suffered a great loss boy this is true, but are you going to tell me that you will willingly let the one responsible for her death win? Will you allow him to get his goal of capturing you and using you against those you care about? You won't recognize them boy. You will kill them with no remorse or compassion. Will you allow this to happen?**" Kyuubi asked, truly curious. I had never really experienced loss like Naruto had. Thus he was unsure of what the boy would do. Naruto sighed as he put his book up and stood to his feet.

"I'm going to do this one thing, and then it will all end." Naruto said softly as he left his mindscape.

Kyuubi opened his eyes and waited to see what would now happen. He had a good idea what the boy meant and he wasn't sure how he could prevent it.

Naruto took control of his body and immediately grabbed the two blades that were about to pierce him. He sent his two chakra tails through the two elite ninjas' chests and turned to look at the remaining force.

He felt the rage, anger, despair and hatred rush through him. He took a deep breath and prepared himself. He hated the fact that he had to leave the sanctity of his mind and deal with the real world. He looked up and counted the remaining ninja around him. Suddenly, ten more shinobi rushed towards him. However, they had failed to realize that he had regained control of his body. Thus they attacked as they had before. They sent two as a diversion while the remaining eight stood back to prepare to exploit an opening.

Naruto saw the distraction for what it was and decided to play along. In his enraged mindset, he had simply gone from one enemy to another, seeking all of their deaths without planning the best way to go about it. When the two decoys jumped behind Naruto he turned to look at them, seemingly ignoring the other behind him. The two anbu attacked swiftly while the eight behind him began to form hand signs.

"**Piercing Darkness.**"

The dome of shadows spread from Naruto until it surrounded all ten of his combatants. He moved swiftly and dispatched all ten of his assailants.

The remaining anbu noticed Naruto's use of jutsu and that his eyes were no longer filled with knee crippling rage. They saw intelligence in his gaze and knew that their job had just become harder.

They split into two teams of twenty and one group attacked while the second remained behind. The twenty that were close to him pulled out their swords and used strictly taijutsu against him. They attacked as one, slashing at him and throwing kunai and other such projectiles. Naruto was hard pressed to fight them all off at once. He was taking blow after blow and while he was killing them as well, he knew that he wasn't healing quickly enough nor was he killing them off swiftly enough to prevent his inevitable defeat. They seemed to forgo pulling their punches and trusted in his healing ability to fix any significant damage. He body was becoming littered with wounds as his healing factor focused on the most severe wounds first.

"**Shadow clone jutsu!**" Naruto shouted as he unleashed a horde of clones against his enemies. The remaining anbu from the group he had been fighting began to fight off his clones. Naruto fell to one knee as he attempted to rest. However, the second group of twenty anbu had been waiting for this and began to attack him with high powered jutsu in an attempt to catch him off guard. This worked very well as Naruto was battered around as he wasn't able to regroup before another member began to attack him. After taking a brutal earth style jutsu to the back, Naruto fell to the ground and was immediately wrapped in dozens of chakra draining metal cables.

'I need more power!' Naruto shouted to the fox within him.

'**Your body is already beyond its breaking point! Anymore and you will be victorious but you will not survive!**' The fox responded.

'Who cares?! All I want is Danzo dead! After that I had no plans of continuing on anyway. Would you rather go down fighting or become a slave of that teme?!' Naruto shouted.

'…**..Very well. It's been quite a ride kit. This will most likely be the last time we speak. I am sorry for what has happened to you. Kill him and everyone else!'** Kyuubi said as he sent Naruto enough power to win this battle. However, he was also sending Naruto his death warrant. Naruto's chakra coils widened and began to burst from the massive power increase he was going through. A third tail of chakra emerged from behind him and with a roar of equal agony and fury, Naruto broke through his metal bindings.

"**Demon's Bane!**" Naruto shouted as he shot out the highly condensed demonic chakra beam from his mouth. The beam was massive and disintegrated all in its path, wiping out half of the remaining anbu ninja.

Only ten remained to fight against the boy and they stood no chance. Naruto moved faster than they could track and was on them immediately. He slashed and struck blindly, nearly overcome by the combination of unimaginable pain from the chakra basically burning him from within as well as the combined rage from himself and the fox. The remaining ninja before him were soon no longer recognizable as human. He stood panting in the room that was now soaked in blood and gore. He turned and fell to his knees. He couldn't keep up the power and returned to his two tailed state. His coils were already horribly damaged and being in two tails was still incredibly draining as well as damaging. However, he was reluctant to go to the one tailed state without knowing what else remained between himself and Danzo. Also, he didn't plan to survive for very much longer so what was the harm in making sure he was strong enough to handle what may come.

He staggered over and opened the door that led to another hallway. He slowly made his way down towards Danzo's location. His eye sight was blurred and every step was agony to his broken and beaten body, but still he pressed on. He was surprised when he came across a strange looking doll standing in front of him. It had a strange seal tag on the face and seemed to simply stare at Naruto. However, soon the doll attacked and Naruto went of the defensive. The doll was faster then he first imagined but that didn't stop Naruto from grabbing it with his chakra tails and holding it close to him. The doll thrust its head forward to connect with Naruto's own. Naruto suddenly froze as he felt another mind attempt to overtake his own.

"What's going on?!" Naruto shouted within his mindscape as he soon saw a blonde hair anbu in front of him.

"This is where you fall Uzumaki. I am Fu one of Danzo-sama's most elite guard. You have gone beyond Danzo-sama's expectations in killing our entire force. However, this is where it ends. You signed your defeat when you allowed my puppet to touch you. This is my **Mind Puppet Switch Cursed Seal Jutsu**. Your body now belongs to me and your mind will be sealed within my puppet." Fu said as he walked towards Naruto and grabbed him.

'Why can't I move?! There's no way that I'm going to allow him to beat me!' Naruto thought as he felt Fu forcing him out of his own mind.

However, the root anbu made a fatal mistake. He forgot about Kyuubi. The great fox shot his arm out of the cage he was trapped within and skewered the blonde anbu on his claws. The blonde's eyes widened in shock as he was lifted towards the fox.

"**You think you are strong enough to overtake his mind with me here? You overestimate yourself human.**" Kyuubi said as he pulled Fu within the bars and he disappeared within the fox's massive jaws.

Naruto regained control of his body and tore the puppet to pieces. He continued on as a multitude of black shuriken and kunai flew towards him. His tails moved forward and blocked the weapons.

"Don't let your opponent get behind you."

Naruto felt two hands grab onto his shoulders and soon felt pain unlike anything he had ever experienced before spread across his skin. He fell to the ground and screamed in pain as whatever was attacking him continued to spread across his body. He looked up and saw another anbu looking at him He had on a black mask that only left his eyes, nose, mouth and chin visible. He had short black hair and his uniform was completely black.

"I am Torune. That was my partner you just killed. What you are feeling now is my **Poisonous Nano Bugs Technique**. As the name suggests, millions of tiny poisonous insects are currently spreading across your skin and attacking every other cell that they come into contact with. The pain is unimaginable and I hold the only cure. Surrender and I will end your pain." Torune calmly stated.

Naruto was in too much pain to respond. It felt beyond horrible and he knew that he had to do something quickly. While his demonic chakra was normally strong enough to protect him against such an attack, the chakra was focused on keeping him alive by keeping his chakra coils together, barely, and healing the numerous severe wounds he had accumulated from earlier.

'Fox give me that power again!' Naruto shouted. He knew that if he were to go to three tails then he would be able to use the extra chakra to burn out all of the insects currently infecting him.

'**Using that power again may be too much for you to handle. Your coils are already barely holding together and preventing you from exploding. There is a good chance that you won't survive.**' Was Naruto's response.

'I've got no other choice.' Naruto shouted back as he felt the fox comply. He felt the sudden influx of chakra and almost bit through his tongue at the pain of having his coils stretched beyond their breaking point once again combined with the already excruciating pain from the insects. However Naruto's coils held together just barely. A third tail of chakra once again appeared and the insects were immediately burned out. He canceled the third tail immediately and jumped back as he saw Torune leap towards him, trying to re-infect him. Naruto swayed badly as he fell to his knees again. Torune tore off his shirt and Naruto saw the black skin across his entire body. It was obvious that he held the insects on his own body and any contact between them would cause him to re-infect himself. Naruto knew that he was extremely lucky to have survived the last ascension to the third tailed state. He knew he wouldn't be able to do it again. Thus he had to deal with Torune without letting the anbu touch him.

Naruto thrust an arm forward and shot a crimson hand towards Torune. The ninja leapt out of the way and threw his kunai at Naruto once again. Naruto rolled out of the way and continued to try and grab his opponent. However, Torune and Fu were two of Danzo's most powerful shinobi. Fu had been simple enough to defeat because he had failed to take the fox residing in Naruto's body into account when he attacked. Torune was being cautious of the two swirling tails and would not be as easily to defeat.

Torune jumped towards Naruto and tried to grab him with his arms. Naruto jumped back and sent his tails to pierce Torune in the chest. The root ninja disappeared with a log in his previous position. Naruto felt the attack coming from behind him and ducked just as Tornue was about to grab his throat. Naruto did a handstand and delivered a double mule kick to Tornue's chest. He immediately sent a crimson hand towards the anbu but the elite once again jumped out of the way and threw a kunai with an explosive tag in front of Naruto. The explosion blinded Naruto for a moment but that was all the time Torune needed. He appeared in front of the stunned ninja and grabbed his face between his hands. Naruto immediately sent both of his tails through Torune's chest. However, the damage had been done. Torune hadn't been attempting to escape with his life. He had been ordered to defeat Naruto or at least weaken him to the point where he would not be a threat to Danzo. As he died he knew that he had done his duty.

Naruto screamed as the insects once again attacked him. This time, however, they attacked his face. They were slowly creeping towards his eyes and his brain. He couldn't take the pain and was close to blacking out. Banking everything on one final move of desperation, Naruto retracted all of the demonic chakra surrounding him and focused it to his face. His body lost his chakra cloak and his entire face glowed a bright crimson before it slowly began to retract. Naruto was left on his back as a faint glow was the only remaining remnants of his chakra cloak. He had once again saved himself but at a high price. His body was a mess and was only just holding on to life. He slowly began to pull his way to the door at the end of the hallway. He knew that Danzo was behind it and was determined to hold on long enough to kill him. His legs weren't working and without a larger flow of demonic chakra, his body wasn't able to deal with the sheer amount of torment it had gone through. Without the faint red glow around him, his coils would have collapsed on themselves and he would surely be beyond the point of recovery. The fox was just keeping him from death's embrace.

'Just a little bit more and then I can finally see you again, Hinata-chan.' Naruto thought as he continued to pull himself towards the door. He almost blacked out for a moment and it soon became too hard to continue on. He felt the fox tying to pull him back but it hurt too much and he was so tired. He wanted to rest. He wanted to let go. His eyes grew heavy and he felt his body begin to give up.

He felt a smooth warm hand touch his face. His hazy gaze looked up to see an angel. Hinata was standing in front of him. She was nearly transparent but that didn't matter to Naruto. She smiled at him and grabbed his face with both of her hands and she began to gently rub his whiskered cheeks. He felt the warmth of her palms and was about to close his eyes. If she was waiting for him then he wasn't about to let her wait any longer. However, he felt the warmth of her hands leave his face. He opened his eyes and looked towards her. She gave a sorrowful smile and shook her head. It wasn't yet time for him to leave. She began to disappear and Naruto suddenly found the strength to reach a hand out towards her. She disappeared right before he was able to touch her. Tears began to fall from his eyes as he felt his body slowly pull itself together. Kyuubi had just been able to force enough chakra into his body to get it moving again. Naruto slowly got to his feet and began to limp towards the door. He opened the door and looked to see the man he wanted dead sitting calmly behind a chair.

"So good of you to finally make it here Uzumaki. I am highly impressed by how powerful you are. I didn't think you would be able to handle all of my troops as well as Fu and Torune after such a long and draw out battle." Danzo said calmly.

"Why?" Naruto snarled in utter hatred.

"I can only assume by your rather spirited fighting that the Hyuga girl is dead. A pity, I didn't want her dead just yet. There was so much more that I could have accomplished with her." Danzo said.

Naruto was able to read between the lines and knew that Danzo had even more sinister things up his sleeves for Hinata should she have lived.

"You are beyond scum! How dare you use people the way that you do." Naruto sieved in anger.

"Ninja are tools boy. They are meant to be used and thrown away when they are no longer useful. You should have been the ultimate weapon of Konoha. Then we could have truly brought peace to this land. The past and current Hokage are fools. There will never be an end to war as long as they continue to operate as they do. True peace can only be achieved through brute force and subjugation. Talking accomplishes nothing. Only power is respected and feared. The only way for peace to reign is for one to rule above all others. Only those who have fought wars and truly experienced the evils of mankind can come to this conclusion. Any other ideal is purely wishful thinking of those who can't handle the truth of this world." Danzo said as he opened his one eye to stare at Naruto.

"I don't care about your beliefs. I don't care about your plans. All I care about is that the one I loved is dead and you are the cause." Naruto said as the crimson chakra began to form around him once again. One tails of chakra grew from the cloak and Naruto stood to his full height. He couldn't hold it long but he was determined to end this now.

"I am the cause? This world is cruel and cold boy. Do you think you are the only person to have lost someone? Don't be foolish. She was going to die eventually anyway. In this world the only absolutes are change and death." Danzo said simply.

"Too true." Naruto said calmly as his chakra tail went through Danzo's shoulder. The war torn shinobi had the strength not to scream in pain at the tainted chakra began to slowly infect his body. Naruto watched calmly as Dano'z remaining arm began to peel and blacken from the chakra destroying it. Curiously, Danzo made not a sound.

Danzo knew that his death was coming. He had no way to defend himself against the boy. Had his plans gone as he wanted, he would have had three years or so to initiate his final plot. He would have implanted a sharingan eye into his empty socket and used it to influence others while an arm covered in the sharingans from the deceased Uchiha clan would have been attached to him. This would give him the physical strength to assuredly control the kyuubi child as well as anyone who would dare oppose him. Having an army was good but it was always smart to have personal strength as well. However, this would no longer be possible as he was about to face his death, still that didn't meant that he would go down alone.

"Do you really think that I thought of all of this alone boy? Don't be foolish." Danzo said. He noticed the surprise and anger in Naruto's stare. He knew that the boy was hoping to kill him as well as the fact that he didn't plan to live much longer. Danzo had been a ninja for a long time and knew the look of a man who wanted to die. Naruto wanted his revenge but he also wanted to die as well. Danzo saw an opportunity to spite the boy one final time.

"I couldn't have done this without the help of Orochimaru as well as Hiashi Hyuga. Orochimaru gave me his elite guards which have been fighting your friends. I don't expect many of them to have survived against those sound ninja. Also you are aware that the Hyuga clan wanted Hinata back. Do you think I could interfere with their plan without repercussion unless they gave me permission? Hiashi himself told me that I could do whatever I pleased with his daughter. To truly have your revenge, you would need to kill them as well." Danzo said cruelly with a smirk and chuckle.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Danzo wasn't the only one?! Orochimaru and Hiashi were a part of this as well? He couldn't believe it! He wouldn't be able to fully avenge Hinata until they were punished as well. He couldn't die now, no matter how much he wished to let go. He couldn't give up and he knew from Danzo's smile and laugh that he knew this. He growled in rage as he pulled Danzo towards him. He put his hands together and thrust them into Danzo's stomach. He savagely pulled them apart sideways, eviscerating the old shinobi. He dropped the still alive Danzo and turned to walk away. He could do nothing about Orochimaru but he would take the entire Hyuga compound apart to kill Hiashi.

Danzo felt death approaching and slowly raised what was left of his only arm. He made a hand sign and looked at the retreating back of what should have been his greatest weapon.

"Learn this boy and learn it well. Never leave an opponent alive, especially when you don't know the full extent of their powers." Danzo was able to whisper out as he made a single hand sign. The entire office exploded. Naruto was thrown into the hallway and was shocked when he saw that the entire compound was blowing up. Explosive notes had been implanted throughout the entire facility to ensure that no evidence could ever be used against Danzo should he escape from it. Naruto got up and ran as fast as he could to out run the explosions. However, whatever little power boost he had attained to briefly defeat Danzo was gone. He fell to his knees in the middle of the battle dojo from before and fell on his face. He couldn't move and knew this was end.

'I'm sorry I couldn't fully avenge you Hinata-chan. I'll be with you soon.' Naruto thought as he blacked out. The entire underground compound exploded moments later.

**Here's chapter 47. Danzo's is gone. Till next time, Kyuubi123 out.**


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

Pain and darkness were all that Naruto knew. His body felt heavy, he couldn't move a muscle. Not that he would try considering how painful even thinking about moving felt. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a void of utter darkness.

'I guess I didn't make it to heaven then. Not very surprising seeing as how I just slaughtered so many ninja.' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes once again.

"**You aren't dead. Not yet anyway.**"

Naruto looked up and was surprised and a bit fearful to see the great Kyuubi standing in front of him. There were no bars and no cage holding the fox back and Naruto was pretty sure that he was about to take his revenge.

"**Relax kit. As I've said, you aren't dead yet. If I were to kill you now then I would still die with you.**" Kyuubi said as he used his tails to wrap up the broken ninja. Naruto was immensely grateful for the comfort and closed his eyes to rest. Everything hurt so bad that all he wanted to do was sleep.

"**Wake up boy! Now isn't the time for sleep.**" Kyuubi roared to get Naruto's attention.

"Leave me alone Kyuubi. I'm so tired." Naruto mumbled out.

"**If you sleep here then you will forever be lost in the plane between life and death. You've got a choice to make.**" Kyuubi said in a softer tone.

"A choice?" Naruto asked in confusion as he slowly fought off the much desired rest.

"**Yes a choice. As of right now, your Hokage is trying to save your life. I cannot assist as my chakra was one of the problems. Your physical injuries are numerous but not likely to kill you by themselves. It is your chakra system that is in danger of collapsing. Overusing my chakra put such a strain on your coils that they are broken and cracked almost everywhere. By all rights you should be dead right now.**" Kyuubi explained.

"I didn't die in that explosion? How did I make it out?" Naruto asked in surprise. He was sure that he was finished.

"**I don't know. I was busy contemplating what would happen to me when you died. I have lived for centuries boy. I have never had to face death before. I was a bit preoccupied with this new development when the next thing I know, you are lying on a table in front of your blonde haired leader. This however is irrelevant at the moment. You will still die if you don't make the choice to live.**" Kyuubi explained.

"The choice to live?" Naruto asked his mind to weary to put the pieces together.

"**Yes. While I can't do anything to ensure our survival, you can. The will to live is one of the most powerful things there is. If you want to die, all you have to do is give up. However, if you want to live, then your Hokage's efforts will not be wasted. It's all up to you. She is keeping your chakra system working and is trying to repair it. Needless to say that this is an extremely lengthy and highly risky operation. There are so many things that could go wrong that most medics probably wouldn't even attempt it. Still, if your will to live is strong enough then you just might make it. The choice is yours.**" Kyuubi said as he lay down with the genin on top of his tails. He had done all he could. It was up to the boy to decide whether or not he wanted to survive.

"What do I have to live for? I failed to protect the one I love. I couldn't uphold my nindo. For all I know, all of my friends are dead right now." Naruto said in a broken tone.

"**Suck it up brat! I'm tired of hearing this! If you failed to uphold your nindo then grow stronger so that you will never break it again! If some of your friends are dead then live and grow strong to avenge them! You lost your love, but do you think she would approve of what you plan to do? The main reason she even began to notice you during the academy was because of your will to never give up. Your desire to grow stronger and to never let anything beat you even impressed me! Only two other humans have ever had my respect as you earned boy.**" Kyuubi said, not liking the boy's moping.

"You're just afraid to die." Naruto said in a slightly accusing voice. The fox's argument was actually beginning to break his resolve to simply let go. It went against everything Naruto was and that fierce spirit was beginning to grow once again. Naruto _wanted_ to want to give up, but he couldn't.

"**Yes I am, however I will face that inevitable fate with my head held high. You forget that I was planning to have died in that compound. I was actually prepared to go and slightly resolved to the fate of death. You fought above and beyond what could have been expected of someone who had just gone through what you did. You fought back against the weariness of your body as well as the deep emotional wounds that were inflicted mere minutes before. To go through all of that and still find the will to push on is something I haven't seen in a long time kit. Let's not give that one eyed waste of meat and his accompli the satisfaction of having us die. Live on, not only to fully avenge your mate, but also to show them all your strength.**" The fox said.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked in two directions. To his left was a very weak glowing light. It was slowly being suffocated by the all encompassing darkness around them. He knew that that path lead to pain, anguish, and life. To his right was a blindingly bright light. This light was peaceful, warm and promised an end to everything. This light promised him peace in death.

Naruto sighed and turned to the left. It was going to be hard, but the measure of a man wasn't how many times he fell down, but how many times he was able to rise again and continue to fight for what he believed in. Naruto turned and looked at the bright light. He knew that in it he would find an end to pain, an end to suffering, and his love. However, he felt he would be betraying her if he were to give up on his dream.

'One day Hinata-chan. Wait for me.' He thought as he pushed his way to the slowly fading light. He ran at full speed towards it, attempting to grasp it before it was lost in the darkness forever. For a moment he thought he would fail. The light was all but gone and he was still far from it. He actually felt the darkness push him from the light. It was trying to win.

"Get out of my way! I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I won't fall here!" Naruto shouted as a bright green glow appeared under his shirt. He pulled out the necklace of the first Hokage. Suddenly Naruto felt the warmth of divine chakra erupt from his heart. He pulled his shirt off and saw the black dragon tattoo wrapped around his body and the head settled directly over his heart. The golden light of the divine chakra reacted with the strange green glow of the necklace and push against the darkness holding him. The darkness shattered and Naruto leapt to grab onto the light. However, for a heart stopping moment he saw the light beginning to go out and he was still too far away. Suddenly he felt something grab him and he saw that it was a red tail. Kyuubi had decided to help out. He grabbed Naruto and leapt to the dimming light. They both flew through and all Naruto felt before he passed out was intense pain in his body. However, it was the pain of someone who was fighting to regain his life.

**(Konoha Hospital)**

Tsunade worked furiously to save Naruto. She had been at it for hours already and showed no signs of stopping. Shizune had long since gone off the help save the other genin that had been retrieved. When Naruto had first appeared mysteriously on a hospital table, the doctors and nurses were frozen in shock for a moment at the strange appearance. However, they quickly snapped out of it and went to help him. However, they were about to give up before they began when they saw the mess that was Naruto's body. They couldn't tell where one wound began from where another ended. They attempted to heal him but weren't getting very far. Medic ninja saved their patients by injecting chakra into the patient's body to begin fixing the problem. However, Naruto's chakra system was deteriorating at a rapid rate and they first had to fix it. Tem medics began working on him when Tsunade broke through the door at full speed, utter terror visible in her eyes. She immediately went to work using all of her medical skill to save the life of one of her precious people.

'Hold on Naru-chan. Please hold on.' She thought as she continued to work. However it seemed that there was nothing she could do. The fox's chakra wasn't helping her, which was probably for the best. As fragile as Naruto's chakra coils were, she was sure that the fox's chakra would have only been detrimental to his improvement. Tsunade knew that Naruto's state was due to an overuse of the fox's power. She, as well as everyone else in Konoha, had felt the massive release of demonic chakra. Every veteran ninja who had ever felt that chakra would never forget it. She was instantly fearful for Naruto as she knew that he shouldn't be able to use so much of the fox's chakra at one time.

She was giving it her all to fix his chakra coils but it seemed impossible. It was like trying to piece together a large plane of shattered glass. She had to be careful not to use too much chakra or she would only overload the already taxed system and cause further damage. Added to this already huge problem was the amount of severe wounds on Naruto's body. She couldn't do much about those yet as she had to first fix his coils. She had the feeling that she was facing an insurmountable foe. She felt tears run down her face as Naruto began to fade more and more away.

"Stay with me! Don't you dare leave me too!" Tsunade shouted to the unconscious ninja. However, she had been a medic ninja for a long time and was considered to be the best in the world. She knew that a person's spirit and will to live were the most important things when recovery was concerned. She felt in her heart that Naruto had given up on life, and the reason was currently resting in another part of the hospital. Tsunade hadn't had an easy time accepting Hinata's death. She instantly knew that this was the reason that Naruto had gone berserk. She also knew that Naruto knew the extent he could safely use the fox's chakra. All of this combined to solidify in her mind that Naruto was attempting to kill himself. If this was the case then nothing she could do would help. She wasn't even sure if she should help at all. When she had lost the ones she loved above all others she too went on a journey of self destruction. Naruto had been the one to save her from the demons of the past, but was she cruel enough to bring him back into a world where his love was gone?

Just as Tsunade fell to her knees in sorrow and was about to concede defeat the cursed necklace of her grandfather began to glow a bright green. She was shocked when the green chakra began to combine with a golden white chakra. The two mixed together and began to spread over Naruto's body. A blinding flash of light appeared in the room. When Tsunade was able to see again she saw that the physical wounds that littered Naruto's body were closing up. She rushed and performed a diagnostic on his body. The combined chakras had healed him just enough where it no longer seemed hopeless. She also saw that his chakra system was slowly beginning to med itself back together. She put away all doubts and redoubled her efforts to fix the boy who had healed her broken heart and gave her a will to live for the future.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see Tsunade working diligently to bring him back from the jaws of death. He saw the determination in her gaze as well as the tears streaks across her face. She was always looking out for him. Healing him when he was hurt, talking to him when he was upset, she even went so far as to help him with his first date with Hinata. He gave a small smile and whispered a single phrase before he once again lost consciousness.

"Thank you Kaa-san."

Tsunade looked up when she heard Naruto's whispered statement and a tear of joy flowed down her face. She felt her heart fill with a warm feeling at the simple statement. She quickly shook her head and got back to work. While he was on the road to recovery, he was still a mess and she would have to work through the night to fix everything wrong with the blonde ninja who had grown to be like a son to her.

**(Next morning)**

Tsunade woke up to realize that she had fallen asleep in the chair beside Naruto. After assuring herself that he was out of danger, she had immediately collapsed in the chair and passed out from exhaustion. She walked over to the sleeping ninja and began to run a diagnostic on him once again. She found that his chakra coils were slowly mending themselves and weren't in danger of collapsing anymore. His body still supported a multitude of healing wounds that would leave him on bed rest for a few weeks at the least. The fox still couldn't risk sending its chakra to heal him without possibly damaging the fragile chakra coils. She also could only do so much before the body had to take care of itself. Still he was alive and that was all that mattered.

She sat back down and took his hand in hers. She began to think about what a troublesome day it had been. After her premonition the moment the boys left, she had immediately called together the senior members of the hospital staff and sent them after Naruto and his group. This proved to be a crucial decision for if she had instead waited even a few hours before making this decision, she would have probably lost most of the boys. Rock Lee, Neji, and Choji were in the worst shape.

Shikamaru had been able to deflect the kunai that stabbed him enough so that it missed his vital organs. The medic sent after him and healed him quickly and helped him and Temari regain their strength before bringing them back. Temari was with Shikamaru right now, forcing him to eat the horrible hospital food that they were given.

Shino was in bad shape but he was still not in any mortal danger. Haku had some medical experience as she worked at the hospital and was able to keep him stable until Shizune had found them. Shizune healed Shino enough so that he could be moved safely and Haku had taken it upon herself to become Shino's nurse. Shino's father was with him right now helping him integrate new insect colonies to replace the majority that was lost during his battle with Sakon and Ukon.

Kakashi was in the best shape out of everyone. He was currently resting from severe chakra depletion as well as the small remnants of poison from Kabuto's serpent that his impromptu self electrocution hadn't gotten rid of. Kurenai was with him and Tsunade knew that while he was alright, both he and Kurenai were using each other's presence to draw strength to deal with Hinata's death.

Tsunade sighed as she thought about how close the other three ninja had come to death. It was a miracle that Choji had lasted as long as he had. He had numerous ruptured organs, his entire chest was nearly caved in resulting in his ribs being broken in so many places that they resembled crushed glass, and to top it off he was suffering from the deadly affects of having used the dreaded special red Akamichi pill. It took Tsunade and three other doctors five hours to save his life. She focused on reversing the damage of the pill while the others focused on putting his body back together again. He was out of danger but wouldn't be one hundred percent for a long time. Ino refused to move an inch from his side. She was always a daddy's girl but she wouldn't even entertain her father's suggestion to rest for awhile. Only when Choji began to recover did she concede and head home to her distraught but thankful parents. However, she was back at the hospital the very next day.

Neji was in even worse shape than Choji. While a majority of Choji's wounds had been bad, it was more the quantity of the wounds than the quality of them that was the problem. Neji had only two major wounds but they were above and beyond more severe than Choji's. Neji was actually missing a huge chunk of his lung from taking the hit from Kidomaru's giant arrow. Also, the second arrow was still logged in his sternum when they brought him to the hospital. The medic that went to help him was forced to manually keep his heart beating while trying his best to stifle the flow of blood leaving his body. Shizune had taken over his healing and focused on closing the giant hole in his chest, while a team of five other doctors worked on removing the arrow still in him and fixing the damage as they went. They actually lost him once but were able to bring him back. He was currently in ICA and it didn't look like he would be awakening or a while. Tenten had a broken wrist which was easily fixed. She was there the whole time waiting and praying that he would make it. Her father had come and given his support and comfort for his distraught daughter.

There wasn't even a word for what happened to Rock Lee. The doctor that went to follow him was ready to declare him dead on the spot. However, Sakura refused to let it end so easily and demanded that the medic save him. The man shook his head and looked at Lee's ravaged body. He had no idea where to start. Whereas Choji's wounds were more quantity than quality and Neji's the very opposite, Lee had more wounds than both combined and most of these were quite severe. The worst was the large hole that went through his chest. Almost every internal organ was damaged in some way. Luckily, Lee was the closest to Konoha and the medic was able to get him back to the village quickly. He was actually declared dead for a full two minutes as they attempted to free him of his green spandex suit to begin to operate. It took most of the doctors in the hospital all working together to get him in a stable condition. Tsunade was working with Choji and Shizune with Neji by this point. He was finally declared stable after countless hours of work. He was wrapped in enough bandages to appear to be a mummy. Sakura was near hysterical the entire time. She kept babbling that it was her fault and that she was too weak. This was until Tsunade slapped some sense into her. The Hokage began to sternly tell her that she wasn't helping and that if she really wanted to help Lee then to pull herself together and be there for him when he awakened.

Tsunade was pulled out of her thought when she felt Naruto's hand twitch. She then felt it clutch hers and saw that he was beginning to wake up. She stood up and was about to go and retrieve both Anko and Iruka. When they had found out what had been going on, both wanted to be sent to help Naruto and his group. Tsunade had refused, stating that without a clear idea of who was responsible it would be reckless to send them as back up. She had told them to wait and to trust in their little brother. They weren't very happy when they heard the news about his condition. Iruka had to keep Anko from kicking Naruto's door down and clutching him with enough force to break his already weak bones.

"Hey Anko-nee-san, Iruka-nii-san." Naruto said softly.

"You really gave us a scare little brother." Anko said with a tear in her eye as she walked up and very gently hugged him.

"I'll say. Tsunade-sama has been operating on you for almost a day and a half straight." Iruka added with a relieved smile.

"Sorry about that." Naruto said weakly with a thin smile. Both of the elder shinobi could tell that it was forced. His eyes were those of someone who had accepted something so terrible that it was a challenge not to break down immediately.

"I think that's enough for right now you two. Give Naru-chan some rest." Tsunade said to Anko and Iruka. Both looked as if they wanted to protest. They had heard from Kakashi and Kurenai what had happened and wanted to be there for their brother. However, Tsunade's hard stare told them to leave it for now. They both hugged Naruto goodbye and left. Tsunade came up beside Naruto and immediately wrapped him in a hug that was just shy of being too tight.

"Do you have any idea how much you scared me Naru-chan?" Tsunade said in a low tone as she let the fear and terror of almost losing him drain out of her.

"I'm sorry Kaa-san." Naruto responded a bit hesitantly. He felt her tense up and was about to apologize when he felt her give him a small kiss on the forehead.

"Kaa-san. I'm sure that Kushina would have wanted me to raise you after her death. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Naru-chan." Tsunade said with a heartfelt smile. She had never had children and thought that she never would. Hearing herself being called mother almost brought her to tears.

"I want to see her."

Tsunade was broken from her thoughts at this statement and looked at Naruto with wide eyes.

"I want….no I need to see her kaa-san." Naruto said softly as he visibly restrained himself from sobbing. Despite his attempts, tears were running down his face.

"You aren't in any shape to be moved Naru-chan." Tsunade said, hoping to delay the inevitable confrontation. She knew from experience that the mind could deny the death of a precious person, up until the body was actually seen. The same thing had happened to her when her brother had died. She refused to believe it and actually convinced herself that it wasn't true, until she saw his cloth covered body.

"Please kaa-san." Naruto said as tears continued to run down his cheeks. Tsunade could see it in his eyes. The truth had already been cruelly and ruthlessly branded into his heart. Being too chocked up to speak, she simply nodded and went over to begin unhooking him from the machines. Naruto still couldn't move a muscle and this wasn't going to change for a few weeks at the least. Tsunade gently took him in her arms and lifted him up. She slowly began to walk towards the back of the hospital.

Naruto was in great pain during the trek. His body was still far from healed and the numerous half healed wounds on his body were causing him intense pain. Tsunade noticed this and placed one of her hands on his head. She began to shush him like a young child and ease his pain. This comforted both. Naruto had never been held or spoken to in such a motherly tone and Tsunade had never had the opportunity to do such a thing to a child of her own. Soon they came to the operation room that housed Hinata. Tsunade looked at Naruto once more, silently asking him if he was sure. He took a deep breath and nodded. Tsunade opened the door and walked them in. There lying on the table was Hinata.

She appeared to be asleep. Her features were peaceful and she was in the exact position Naruto had left her in. her hands still clutched his sword tightly. The doctors were a bit surprised that it hadn't fallen during the trip back to konoha, but they had simply chalked it up to rigor mortis. No one was to touch her body by order of the Hokage. Tsunade gently laid Naruto on the table beside Hinata. She turned to leave, wanting to give Naruto a moment alone with his fallen love.

'Why do this to him? Why take the one person who loved him more than life itself?' Tsunade thought as she closed the door.

Naruto looked over at the beautiful face of Hinata. He slowly raised a trembling hand to gently touch her face. He could do nothing but cry. The pain was constant and he knew that he would never lose it. He thought back to all the times they had together and couldn't warp his mind around the future, not without her in it.

"Hello Naruto."

Naruto wasn't at all surprised to see the black cloaked figure appear, leaning against the wall beside the door.

"You saved me." Naruto said softly, never taking his eyes off of Hinata.

"Yes I did. What you did was quite foolish."

"It was foolish to avenge her?" Naruto said in a low tone. His tone may have been light but there was a palpable tension suddenly in the room.

"Not at all. It was foolish to attempt to kill yourself." The man responded.

"I had just lost the person I love above all others. Excuse my weakness." Naruto said with heavy sarcasm.

"Pain is a constant of life."

"Did you come for any particular reason? Unless you can tell me you or the dragons can revive her then I don't want to talk to you right now." Naruto said as he began to slowly stroke Hinata's cheek.

"I can't. Neither can Drac, Tatsuya or any other dragon. It's outside of our jurisdiction." He said softly. His disappointment could be felt.

"Please leave then." Naruto said as the last nail was driven into the coffin that held his hope.

"Naruto.."

"Leave." Naruto said softly once again.

The man turned but was stopped by Naruto's voice.

"Take it with you." Naruto said just as softly.

"What?"

"Take the sword with you. I don't deserve it." Naruto said simply.

"No, there is no one else more worthy than you to wield it." The man stated.

"Take it." Naruto said with a bit more bite in his tone.

"No."

Naruto snarled in anger and would have attempted something had he been able to move. As it was, it took all of his concentration to raise the hand he was using the cup Hinata's cheek. Even this slight amount of movement was causing extreme pain to run through his body. However, after what he had been through, he would take physical pain over a broken heart.

"Are you just going to give up?" The man asked curiously.

"No to do so would be to spit upon her memory. I'll continue to strive for my dream. However, I can't take the sword back. It was a representation of my nindo which I broke." Naruto said.

"You're wrong. I won't take it back just because you've lost confidence in yourself." The man said in a dismissive tone.

When the man said nothing else and made no move to take back the sword, Naruto grew angry. Who was he to tell Naruto anything? This man had never truly given him a straight answer and spoke in riddles. He had never even told Naruto why he was picked to wield the sword. Heck, Naruto had never even seen his face! Naruto was sick of being a pawn in a game he wasn't given sure that he was playing. With a grunt of anger, Naruto grabbed the handle with his hand and attempted to remove it from Hinata's. He planned on forcibly giving it back. However, the blade wouldn't budge. No matter how much Naruto pulled the sword refused to leave her grip.

"What's going on? You told me the dragons couldn't do anything for her. Why won't it budge?" Naruto asked accusingly to the man. Naruto was sure that he had something to do with this.

The man walked over to stand beside Naruto and looked at the blade. He tilted his head to the side as if in confusion.

"Well, that's certainly interesting." He said softly as if he was talking to himself.

"What is?" Naruto asked.

"I wouldn't have thought you would have gotten involved. You sure do know how to pick them, but is she ready? What are the odds of this?" The man said once again seeming to speck to himself.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Naruto shouted at the top of his voice.

The man gave no response. He stretched his arm out and gently gripped the blade. A bright flash of light encompassed the room and when Naruto's vision cleared the man was gone, as was his sword. Naruto let out a sigh as Tsunade burst into the room. She had seen the bright flash of light and heard Naruto's shout.

"What's wrong Naru-chan?" She asked with a bit of panic in her voice.

"Nothing, just saying goodbye to a friend." Naruto said simply. He believed that the man had finally given in and taken the blade back form wince it came or given it to someone who rightfully deserved it.

"Come on let's get you back to bed." Tsunade said softly as she reached to pick him up again.

"I'll see you one day Hinata-chan, please wait for me." Naruto said as he gave a small kiss to her lips.

Tsunade picked him up and proceeded to walk out of the room. Neither noticed color begin to creep back into Hinata's cheeks. Her hand gave a small twitch and her eyes slowly opened for only a moment.

'Naruto-kun.' Was her first and only thought before succumbing to the world of dreams.

**Here's chapter 48. Merry Christmas to everyone. Till the new year, Kyuubi123 out!**


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

**I reached 2000 reviews last chapter! You guys must really like this story! The 2000****th**** reviewer was a good friend of mine, KingKakashi. His story "Naruto vs Sasuke the Aftermath" is one of the best I've read. Pick it up when you have the time. Now on to the next chapter!**

**(Konoha Hospital)**

Tsunade carried Naruto back into his room and set him back onto his bed. He was panting with exhaustion and pain from the brief walk to and from the morgue. Tsunade gave him a sad but comforting smile as she placed her hand on his head. She then called upon her medical jutsu to place him in a deep healing sleep. As Naruto dozed off she stood up and prepared herself for the most difficult thing she would have to do for the day. She had to go back down and begin the autopsy on Hinata.

'I am definitely going to need some sake after this.' She thought as she moved to leave Naruto's room.

She was surprised when she ran into Kurenai and Kakashi. Kakashi should have still been in bed recovering but it seemed that he was well enough to move with help from Kurenai, though it may have been an excuse to hold himself close to the crimson eyed beauty.

"You should be in bed Kakashi." Tsunade said.

"I'll be alright Hokage-sama." He said in a solemn tone as he looked at the door of Naruto's room. Seeing his disheartened expression she couldn't bring herself to order him back to his bed.

"Where are you both going?" Tsunade asked in a curious tone. Kurenai was adamant about Kakashi remaining in bed until he was fully healed. For her to not only allow him out of it but to also be the one supporting him, Tsunade knew that something was up.

"We want to see Hinata." Kurenai said with tears in her eyes. She had cried for hours over the loss of the sweet girl who was Kurenai's sister in name and her daughter in heart.

"Very well." Tsunade said with a sigh. It was a good thing that none of the other genin knew that Hinata was dead. It would spread far too quickly through the village for Tsunade's liking and she would also have to deal with more grief from the genin.

All three shinobi walked towards the morgue where Hinata remained. There was a depressing sadness around them as they entered and looked at Hinata. It instantly vanished when all three noticed her condition. Without saying a word Tsunade ran full speed towards Hinata, her heart beating a mile a second. She dared not hope until she checked for herself.

"It can't be! She's alive!" Tsunade cried out in joy and shock. Kakashi fell back onto his butt in shock and Kurenai seemed catatonic for a few seconds before she rushed forward and clutched Hinata to her.

"Hinata! Hinata can you hear me! Please wake up!" Kurenai cried out and she hoped and prayed that this was not some cruel trick or a dream.

"Nee-san?" came the soft reply as Hinata slowly opened her eyes.

"Hinata!" Kurenai shouted as she held her fast and broke down into tears. Tsunade, Kurenai, and Kakashi all felt as if a weight had been lifted from their hearts in that moment. Tsunade had a smile on her face that brightened the room and Kakashi had joyous tears flowing down his face. None knew how it happened. Hinata was truly dead not a few minutes before but she was now completely healed! It was nothing short of a miracle. Kakashi got to his feet and wrapped his arms around Kurenai and Hinata both. Tsunade stayed out of it for now as she tried to make some sense of what had happened. When nothing came to mind she simply shrugged it off and accepted it for now. Besides she knew of someone who would probably destroy his room in joy when he saw who was back from the world of the dead.

"Naruto-kun. Where is Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked after Kurenai had stopped sobbing in relief.

"I'll take you to him Hinata. Kakashi, you need to get back to bed and I'm ordering you this time. Kurenai take him back and get him settled. I'll be with you both shortly." Tsunade ordered. It was obvious that the last thing Kurenai wanted to do was to release Hinata and Kakashi looked ready to argue as well until Tsunade gave them a hard stare telling them that these orders were non-negotiable.

"Hai Tsunade-sama." They both answered. They knew where Tsunade was taking Hinata and to be truthful they didn't want to interrupt the reunion. Kurenai placed Hinata back onto the table and gave her one last hug telling her she would see her in a bit. She walked over to Kakashi and together they walked out of the door.

"She's alive. My little sister's alive. Somebody pinch me." Kurenai said in a tone that was just shy of disbelief. She gave a short yelp as she felt a sharp pain on her rump. She glared at Kakashi who was looking back at her innocently.

"What? You told me to pinch you." He said in a chuckle.

"And you had to pinch me there because?" Kurenai asked with an eye twitch.

"I could always kiss it better." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"Pervert." Kurenai said with a blush as she elbowed him lightly in the chest.

Kakashi simply laughed as they went back into his room and he settled in his bed. Surprisingly, Kurenai crawled onto the bed as well and snuggled into his chest. Kakashi wrapped her in his arms, knowing that the last few minutes had left her emotionally drained. She was still crying a few tears of joy and sorrow into his chest. He said nothing as no words were needed.

"It's a miracle." He heard her murmur.

"Yes it is. It's so hard to believe but she's back." He said in a comforting tone. He felt the same relief she did though he held it in as one of them had to be strong. She had comforted him after the invasion during the chunin exams after he was forced to kill Minato. He thought it only fair of him to return the same affection and strength to her. They fell into a light sleep in each other's arms.

**(Naruto's room)**

After giving Hinata a new set of clean cloths and a thorough check only to find that she was perfectly healthy, Tsunade carried the girl to Naruto's room. Being dead, even for a short time had locked Hinata's muscles and she would need time to get back to full strength. Tsunade could think of no better place for her to be than with Naruto.

She walked into the room and saw that Naruto was still asleep. She walked over and gently placed Hinata beside her love. Hinata refrained from hugging him to death as she wanted to do. She could tell that he needed his rest and she would be the first thing he saw when he awoke. Her body was still as stiff as he was from rigor mortis but like Naruto she was able to will one of her hands up and gently stroked his whiskered face. Naruto sighed in relaxation as he drifted into a deeper sleep. Hinata smiled lovingly at him and placed her head in his shoulder. Before she too feel into the warm embrace of sleep she felt Naruto's arms unconsciously wrap around her.

Tsunade smiled warmly at the scene and felt her heart grow with joy at the revival of Hinata. She had always liked the little girl that had won the heart of Naruto and was overjoyed that by some miracle she lived. They both had gone through so much in their short lives that they deserved happiness. She made a promise to herself then and there that she would do everything in her power to protect them and their future. She gave a short laugh at the thought of a few children with Naruto's energy and Hinata's sweetness calling her "Baa-chan". Her mirth ended when an anbu guard appeared behind her.

"Hokage-sama, the councils are becoming very restless as to the events that have occurred in the last day. They humbly request your presence to explain." He said respectfully.

"Very well. Stand guard here and let no one in aside from myself, Kakashi Hatake or Kurenai Yuhi." She ordered.

"Hai Hokage-sama." The anbu said as he disappeared. Though she couldn't see him, Tsunade knew that the guard was keeping a close eye on the room.

'Time to see what these meddlers want.' Tsunade thought as she left.

**(Council Room)**

Tsunade walked into the council room with her head held high and a stare that told all that she wasn't there to put up with senseless crap.

"What do you want? Need I remind you that I am the Hokage and that I summon _you_ not the other way around?" Tsunade said in anger as she sat down at the front of the room. Her hardened gaze made many of the overzealous members of the council think twice about how they would address her. One fat civilian council member was the first to stand and speak.

"Hokage-sama we are only concerned with what happened not too long ago. We all felt the massive influx of demonic chakra. The demon-brat must have released his wrath upon us!" He shouted in fear. A majority of the civilians nodded their agreement.

"No such thing has happened. Naru-chan is fine as I have just finished healing him." Tsunade said dismissively.

"You saved him! Are you insane! If by some miracle the fox hasn't broken through the seal he should be killed immediately before something like this happens again!" The same man said before he and the rest of the council was treated to an eruption of killing intent.

Tsunade stood up slowly and calmly walked over to the fat fool. Everyone in the room, including the shinobi members were suffering from the oppressive killing intent. While the shinobi were sweating the civilians were either feeling faint or trying to draw a breath. Tsunade stood directly in front of the man and gave him a glare that would have made demons think twice before facing her wrath.

"Listen and listen well you fat piece of slime! I am the Hokage! My word is law and if you EVER dare to call me insane or question my judgment in how I handle MY shinobi then I will kill you myself. Is that clear?!" Tsunade shouted as the intense pressure doubled and the civilians began passing out one after another.

"H-h-h-hai H-H-Ho-k-kage-sama." The man said as he fell to his knees.

"Good." Tsunade said simply as she reigned in her killing intent and had her anbu guards awaken the unconscious members.

"Is there anything else?" Tsunade asked calmly as she sat down.

"What is the status of the mission that took place a little while ago?" Koharu asked.

Tsunade calmly told them about what had taken place. She told them about the sound five and how they were all dead. However, she didn't tell them that she suspected Danzo to have had a hand in this. She had the mask that Kakashi retrieved but none of the genin could help her with incriminating evidence. As she had yet to talk to Naruto, neither she nor the council was aware of what had taken place and that Danzo was no longer among the living.

"So Sasuke Uchiha betrayed our village and suffered the consequences for it. Fitting end for a traitor." Shikaku said in his normal tone.

"How can you say that?! He was the last Uchiha we had in the village. Without him, we have lost one of the most powerful bloodlines! We should punish that brat for what he has done." Shouted a civilian woman.

She shut up quickly when she was pinned with glares from Shikaku, Choza, Inoichi, and Shibi. They all knew what had happened to their children as they had been to the hospital for hours praying for their recovery.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand." Shibi said his voice for the first time that anyone could remember was angry.

"This is beside the point. The Uchiha was a traitor and died a traitor's death; however, I would like to know what caused the boy to unleash so much demonic chakra. I truly feared that the seal was about to break and spell doom for us all." Homura said his attention on Tsunade.

"If the boy's lack of emotional control is any indication, someone close to him must have been severely hurt or killed." Hiashi stated, speaking for the first time.

"Hiashi is correct. Hinata Yuhi was severely injured." Tsunade said attempting to keep the truth under wraps for as long as she could.

"Injured? If she was simply injured then why did you have her placed in the morgue?" Hiashi asked in mock confusion.

'How did he find out about that?!' Tsunade thought with a snarl. She didn't have the full story on what happened but there was something about Hiashi that was sending off warning bells in Tsunade's head.

"By the way, where is Danzo?" Hiashi asked, intending to continue on the attack. He knew that with Naruto alive and in the hospital that Danzo must have failed in his plan and most likely was no longer alive. While this may have been enough to keep Hiashi's involvement hidden, he wasn't about to take any chances. He had to find a way to get rid of the boy before he could tell Tsunade everything. There was always a chance that Danzo had ratted him out before his death.

"That is a good question, where exactly is Danzo?" Koharu asked in confusion.

"Truthfully, I don't have a clue." Tsunade said in a dismissive tone. She didn't care where the old war hawk was as long as he wasn't causing her any trouble.

"I believe that unless there is anything else to discuss that this meeting should be adjourned." Hiashi said calmly.

This brought narrowed looks from the other shinobi clan heads as well as Tsunade who were trying to figure out what he was up to. However, Tsunade believed this to be the best course of action as well. Danzo being absent was something to be concerned about as the old man had never missed a meeting or let an opportunity to take her job slip pass. Something was wrong if he had let an opportunity like this pass him by. Also, she needed the full story from Naruto if she was to figure out the best way to keep him safe.

"Very well this meeting is now closed, but be prepared to return soon for I will debrief my shinobi to figure out everything that happened." Tsunade said as she stood to leave.

'I must figure out a way to get rid of that boy. He is far too dangerous if he was able to get rid of Danzo.' Hiashi thought as he turned and left.

**(Naruto's room)**

Naruto slowly began to pull himself from his dreamless sleep. He felt better after seeing Hinata for the last time, but there would always be a hole in his heart. He was broken from his thoughts when he felt something strange. He was sure that he had been placed in bed alone, yet he felt someone else snuggling tightly to his body. His eyesight was still a bit blurry but he was able to turn his head and see a shape lying beside him, their head resting on his shoulder.

'Who is this?' Naruto thought as he vision began to clear. The first thing he saw was a head covered in dark blue hair.

'It can't be. I must be dreaming.' Naruto thought solemnly. He knew Hinata was died. There was no way that she could be lying beside him alive and well. He wanted to curse his dreams for bringing her back to him only to lose her once he truly woke up. He unwrapped his arms from around her and gently began to rub her head. He felt Hinata begin to squirm a bit before she looked up and sleepily opened her eyes. Naruto had to admit that dream Hinata looked just as beautiful as he fallen love.

"Naruto-kun." She said softly in a voice full of love.

Naruto felt his heart break once again at the voice. It warmed him at the same time that it caused a knife like feeling to go through his heart. He was instantly reminded that he would never truly hear Hinata say it again. Deciding that he couldn't take this anymore, he closed his eyes and turned his head away from her, hoping that he could force himself to wake up.

Hinata was slightly confused by the way Naruto was acting. It was as if he didn't want to see her. He had looked at her in painful longing as if he was staring at something that he would never see again. Truly she had felt the same way before.

Death was not something she would ever forget. She hadn't really felt the mortal injury given to her by Sasuke. Her body had immediately gone into shock from the wound and she had only felt numb. She knew that she was soon to die and remembered staring into Naruto's soul shattered eyes. She professed her love for him and was able to give him a small kiss before darkness enveloped her. The next thing she remembered was being surrounded by a blindingly bright light. She could see nothing but the light that surrounded her.

She was confused before she suddenly saw Naruto once again. However she never wanted to see him the way she had. His body was a mess of scars and injuries. Blood was spilling from an incalculable amount of wounds. He was on his knees surrounded by dead bodies. She could see him falling forward and knew that if she didn't do something then he too would die. She refused to allow his dreams to end so soon. She knew that he was on a self destructive path because of her death and she wouldn't allow him to give up because of her. She wasn't sure how but she was able to break from the light and lay her hands onto his face. This hadn't been easy as the light seemed to try and pull her back to it. She was sure that this was something that the dead weren't supposed to do but quickly ignored it as she brought him back from the brink of death. He looked up to her and actual had a resigned look on his face as he closed his eyes. She retracted her hands when she noticed that her presence was actually making it easier for him to give up. She knew that she couldn't converse with him so she simply gave him a sad smile and shook her head. She could feel the light bringing her back into it and knew that her time with him was up.

'Don't ever give up Naruto-kun. I'll always be waiting for you.' She thought. She could see him attempt to reach for her, but he suddenly vanished and she once again found herself surrounded by the blinding light. With a sigh she looked up and began to float towards the source of the light when she heard a strange voice.

"**Not yet.**"

Hinata was confused as she stopped her ascent. She looked around but could find no source from wince the feminine voice could have come.

"Who's there?" Hinata asked in confusion.

"**Your time has not yet come Hinata Yuhi. There is much left for you to do. Awaken.**" The voice said.

Hinata suddenly saw the light begin to swirl around her until it compressed itself into a small blindingly bright ball of white light. It flew into her chest and she felt her entire body begin to glow. She couldn't breathe for a moment and was about to panic until her breathing returned to normal. Her vision began to darken and she felt her spirit begin to draw back to earth.

"Who are you?" She asked before she passed out.

"**Who am I? I guess I'll copy that idiot on earth and just say that is a secret!**" the voice said with a chuckle.

Hinata soon passed out and the next thing she knew she was staring at the ceiling of the hospital. The first and last thing to come to her mind before sleep took her was of Naruto. Hinata was broken from her thoughts when she felt Naruto begin to move once again.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata said gently once again.

"Go away. Haven't I been tortured enough?" Naruto said angrily, still believing himself to be in a dream.

"I won't go away. I came back for you." Hinata said softly as she laid her hand on his shoulder. Naruto turned to look at her and momentarily lost himself in her beautiful lavender eyes.

"My Hinata-chan is dead. You're nothing but an illusion made by my mind." Naruto said in a hard tone. Naruto refused to allow himself to believe that Hinata had been brought back. It couldn't be true and if he allowed himself to believe that this was truly happening only to awaken later on a find that it was a dream, he would most likely lose it.

"You always were stubborn Naruto-kun." Hinata said with an exasperated tone as she pushed her body up to kiss him.

Naruto froze. He felt the soft malleable lips press against his own and felt a fire erupt in his once dead chest. There was no way that his mind alone was enough to make him feel this way. He wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the harsh pain that accompanied moving any part of his body. He returned the kiss with his entire soul and in that one moment allowed himself to believe. It was a desperate hope and longing that allowed him to accept that this was not a dream. He knew that if this turned out to be a dream that opening his heart and allowing himself to believe would crush him beyond words. However, his very soul was telling him that this wasn't a dream. This wasn't a figment of his imagination. This was real. His Hinata was back. Their lips broke apart and his nearly crushed her small form into his body. It was as if he was trying to force her into his body and make them one.

"H-how?" He asked with tears running down his face as he buried his head into her soft hair and allowed her scent to comfort him.

"I don't know. I just heard a voice tell me that my time hadn't yet come." Hinata responded as she snuggled deeply into his embrace.

Naruto found that he really didn't care how his love was brought back. If he had to guess he would say that it had something to do with his sword, though without the blade or the mysterious man, he wouldn't be able to tell. He shook his head and just basked in the feeling of joy, peace and love he felt from holding Hinata. For the first time in a long time, he felt that things were finally looking up for him.

'Thank you. Whoever you are who brought her back to me, thank you.' Naruto thought as he pulled her tighter into his embrace. They stayed inseparable until Tsunade walked in. She gave them a warm smile and pulled up a chair.

"How are you two feeling?" She asked.

"Everything's perfect, kaa-san." Naruto said with a smile as he looked down into Hinata's face causing her to give a slight blush. Shaking her head in amusement, Tsunade walked over to the two of them and performed a diagnostic jutsu on the two of them.

"You both have a while to go before you're completely healed. Your chakra system is still very fragile Naru-chan not to mention that your body needs a lot of rest to recover from the beating it went through. Your body is still attempting to shake off the rigor mortis you went through Hinata, but you should be fine in about a day or two." Tsunade said with a smile.

'Kaa-san? Hinata thought as she observed Naruto and Tsunade. She could see that love and affection that was between the two of them and could only smile in joy that Naruto had found a mother figure. She missed her mother deeply but would always have the memories of her to lift her spirits. It was only fair that Naruto gain someone to make such memories as well.

"So when can I leave Kaa-san?" Naruto asked with a serious tone.

"Not for a while, why?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"I have some unfinished business to attend to." Naruto all but snarled in anger.

Both Tsunade and Hinata looked at Naruto in confusion as well as concern. They could see the hate in Naruto's eyes and were unnerved by it.

"What's wrong Naru-chan? What did you mean about unfinished business? For that matter, what exactly happened out there?" Tsunade asked, wanting to know everything.

Naruto took a deep breath and recounted everything that happened. He told them about how he killed Sasuke and found out Danzo's location. He told them how Orochimaru and Hiashi were working with Danzo as well. After he had told them everything he fell silent.

Hinata was stunned that her very father would do something like this. While she knew that his heart had died with her mother she would never have thought that he could do something so cruel. She thought that she had severed all emotional ties with her old family but to find out that her own father would work with a madman to engager her life as well as the one she loved was too much for her and she began to weep in sadness. Naruto held her tighter to him as he attempted to sooth her. He had plenty of reasons to seek Hiashi's death but making Hinata cry was just another mark against the soon to be dead man.

Tsunade was livid. To find out that Danzo was behind this was not surprising. He had always been a power hungry man who followed his own ends. To find out that he was working with Orochimaru was not terribly unexpected considering they must have worked out some kind of deal. However, finding out that Hiashi had been a part of this as well was shocking. While he may not have known about the entire plot, he had basically given his daughter to the wolves for no other reason than he could think of no other use for her. Tsunade really wanted to go to the Hyuga compound and smash Hiashi's head in. However she knew that it wasn't possible yet.

"I'm afraid there's not much we can do about this Naru-chan." Tsuande said in anger.

"What?! Have you lost your mind Kaa-san! There's no way that we can allow him to get away with this. If you're not going to do anything then just let me at him after I've recovered. I'll take care of it." Naruto said as his eyes flicker red for a brief moment. He immediately winced in pain and fell back on the bed.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said in shock.

"He'll be alright Hinata. This is what happens when your chakra system is so fragile and you allow demonic chakra to flow briefly through it. Control your temper Naru-chan. You can't call upon the fox's chakra for a while until your coils recover." Tsunade said as she walked over to him and fixed the damage that he had caused.

"We can't just let him get away with this!" Naruto said angrily.

"We won't, but we have to be careful with this information. I actually want to thank you for killing Danzo but if anyone else finds out that you killed him then you will be in big trouble. Danzo self destructing his base made it so that there is no evidence to confirm anything you just said. Without Danzo or one of his accomplices to interrogate the civilian council may try to make a case that you went rogue. Hiashi has no evidence against him right now so we can't go after him. I have no doubt that what you've told me is the truth but we need evidence before we go after him. If you kill him before then than not even I will be able to keep you from the consequences of the law." Tsunade said in annoyance to being bound by laws sometimes.

"What are we going to do?" Naruto asked.

"We'll wait for you to recover first of all. Hiashi is bound to slip up eventually and we will catch him. However, it would be best if you are one hundred percent before we take any drastic actions." Tsunade said simply.

"Can I stay with Naruto-kun Hokage-sama?" Hinata spoke for the first time.

"Oh course you can and please don't call me that. In a few years you might be calling me "Kaa-san" as well. Just call me Tsunade for now." Tsunade said, laughing slightly at the blush that appeared on both of their faces.

"Kaa-san!" Naruto said in indignation.

"Hai Tsunade-sama." Hinata said as her blush began to fade.

"Good, now that I've got the whole story you two need to go back to sleep and get some rest." Tsunade said as she walked over and gave Naruto a small kiss to the forehead. As she left, Hinata snuggled up with Naruto and laid her head on his chest.

"Oh and I don't want anything questionable to happen between you two. I'm not ready to be a grandmother just yet." Tsunade said with a laugh as she once again saw their faces turn bright red. After she left and they composed themselves, Naruto seemed unwilling to go to sleep.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun." Hinata asked in concern.

Naruto looked into her beautiful lavender eyes that where filled with such love and affection for him and couldn't help but draw her into a soft kiss. Hinata willingly allowed herself to be brought down onto him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Naruto's arms tightened around her waist as he slowly broke from the kiss.

"I'm afraid that when I wake up I'll find that this has all been dream." Naruto said softly.

Hinata smiled at his concern and slowly traced the whisker marks on his cheeks.

"I'll be here Naruto-kun. I refuse to leave you again." She said lovingly.

"I almost feel unworthy of you Hinata-chan. It's my fault you…" He began to say before he felt a soft slap to his face.

"I told you that I would slap you whenever you started doubting yourself Naruto-kun. It's not your fault. It's the fault of Sasuke, Danzo, Orochimaru, and my own father. Sasuke and Danzo are gone and we will deal with my father." She said adding a bit of venom in her tone as she said father.

"Yes we will, together." Naruto said as he lay down and allowed his tired body to rest. Hinata once again laid her head on his chest and gave a contented sigh as she too welcomed sleep.

**(Unknown location)**

"Are you sure about this information?" Asked a cloaked figure.

"Hai Leader-sama." A strange looking man responded. He had a Venus fly trap around his head and his face was all black on one half and all white on the other. He wore the signature black cloak with red clouds showing his membership in the Akatsuki. This was Zetsu.

"Very well. According to Zetsu, Sasuke Uchiha as well as Danzo are dead. The kyuubi container is badly hurt and ripe for the taking. Itachi, Kisame you two will go to Konoha and bring the container back here immediately. We can't remove the Kyuubi yet but we can at least keep him from becoming any stronger then he already is. It would be very troublesome should he continue to grow in strength." The unseen leader of the most deadly group of rogue ninjas in the world said.

"Hai leader-sama." Kisame said quickly. He had a smile on his face as he couldn't wait to go and cause some havoc.

Itachi simply nodded his head as he and Kisame disappeared. They ran full speed towards Konoha and their target. Both focused on their goal.

**Here's chapter 49. Happy New Year! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

**(Konoha Hospital)**

A few days had passed and Hinata regained full mobility. However, Naruto was still stuck on bed rest as he had yet to fully recover. Thankfully, he was able to move around a bit without any severe pain. He was happy to have a few visitors in the forms of Shikamaru, Kakashi, Kurenai, Teuchi, and Ayame. Shikamaru wasn't able to stay long as Temari promptly dragged him back into his room, despite his repeated assurances that he was alright. The meeting with Teuchi and Ayame was also short but more because they needed to return to their stand. They did bring Naruto and Hinata a big meal of ramen and told them to get well. Kurenai and Kakashi stayed the longest and as they were the only ones other than Tsunade who knew of Hinata being dead a few days ago, all four had quite an emotional time together.

"Are you alright Naruto?" Kakashi asked softly as Hinata and Kurenai became engrossed in their own conversation.

"I'm fine Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with a large smile.

"Don't insult me Naruto." Kakashi whispered sternly as the fake smile on Naruto's face disappeared.

"I've seen that look on the face of some of my past comrades. It's the look of one who has done something horrific and hasn't figured out how to come to grips with it." Kakashi said, though he failed to mention that he himself had seen that very look on his own face in the past.

"I killed all of them." Naruto said as his eyes glazed over.

Kakashi already knew about Naruto's infuriated rampage through Danzo's compound. While he knew that Naruto knew that it was necessary to finally rid them all of Danzo once and for all, that didn't make killing such a large number of people in such a short amount of time easy for the young ninja. He had slaughtered about a hundred ninja. Most chunin didn't even have that many kills under their belt.

"You did what you had to Naruto. Had he been left alive he would have gotten away and tried something like this in the future." Kakashi said in a comforting tone.

"I can see their faces." Naruto said softly.

"They won't go away for a long time. In fact there is a chance that they never will. Something like that will always stay with you. All you can do is make sure that it doesn't overwhelm your spirit." Kakashi said.

"How do I do that?" Naruto asked as he looked up at Kakashi. His eyes showed that he was desperate for an answer. Kakashi knew many ninja who had actually been forced to quit as they hadn't been able to find a coping mechanism with which they could deal with the death that they saw. A ninja either learned to cope with the stress or they could let it consume them and they would either mentally break down or become psychopaths.

Truth be told, Kakashi's interest in Icha Icha was not mainly due to the great story line, though that was certainly a part of it. In a novel, if a character should die, the reader always has the opportunity to turn the pages back to a time before the character's inevitable death. Thus, the reader could detach themselves from the death. Real life was different and in all cases, other than Hinata, the dead stay dead and no amount of wishing could bring back the good times and soothe the pain and feeling of loss. Icha Icha was Kakashi's coping mechanism.

'At least it used to be.' Kakashi thought as he looked over to Kurenai who was still conversing with Hinata.

"The best way to make sure that your spirit isn't crushed is to find something that can force you to deal with it and continue on." Kakashi said giving Naruto a significant look.

Naruto followed his line of sight and felt his spirits lift as he gazed at Hinata. He knew that having her back was enough to soothe his broken heart and revitalize his fallen spirit. He vowed then and there that he would never let anything happen to her again. He would make sure that nothing happened to his love.

"I understand." Naruto said with a true smile.

'I'll give my life to protect the future of this village. Naruto, Hinata and the others are the ones who will lead Konoha into a bright new age.' Kakashi thought as Kurenai and Hinata ended their conversations and looked to their perspective love interests, wondering what they had been whispering about.

'Then again, who's to say that I can't find a bit of happiness along the way as well?' Kakashi thought as he wrapped his arms tightly around Kurenai, causing the genjutsu mistress to blush and Naruto and Hinata to laugh in amusement.

**(Council room)**

Tsunade watched as the council members began to file into the room. She had gotten all of the information she could out of Naruto, Kakashi and the other recuperating genin and was ready to address the council before they once again began to cry and moan about wanting information. She was going to be the one in the driver's seat and reveal the truth, well most of it anyway. Hinata's resurrection was still something that she was going to keep under wraps.

"I called this meeting today to tell you to fate of Danzo who had been strangely absent from the previous meeting." Tsunade said as the council began to mummer amongst themselves. Tsunade looked at Hiashi and was annoyed that he hadn't reacted.

"Danzo is dead." Tsunade said simply. The council exploded in shouts of denial, shock and in some cases elation.

"Danzo is dead? Who is responsible?" Hiashi asked, his expression never once changing.

Tsunade took a deep breath before laying down what she knew would be a bomb.

"Naru-chan killed him and his entire legion of root anbu." Tsunade said in a calm tone.

There was complete silence as everyone in the room was shocked by the knowledge, everyone except for Hiashi, Tsunade and Shikaku that is. Tsunade and Hiashi already knew that Naruto had killed Danzo and Shikaku was even smarter than his genius son so it was clear that he had already figured it out. The silence didn't last long before the council once again erupted in shouts of fear, rage, and once again elation.

"So Naruto took out the old war hawk? That's certainly surprising." Inoichi said with wide eyes.

"The old geezer must have really done something to set the kid off. It's amazing that he would be able to take out a legion of root anbu." Chouza stated in wonder.

"How can you shinobi be so calm?! It's obvious that the demon brat has killed an honorable elder and must be slaughtered!" Shouted one of the civilian council members as the rest of the civilians aside from a few shouted their agreement.

"Hokage-sama we demand that you kill irk!" said the fat councilman before his head exploded. This occurred as a result of Tsunade moving across the room at speeds that few of the shinobi could even see and planting her super powered fist through the foolish man's head. The killing intent running off of Tsunade was ten times worse than what they experienced a few days ago.

"Does anyone else have any _demands_ for me?" Tsunade asked in a soft tone. The council members wisely kept their mouths shut and sat back down.

"While he did break the third's law Hokage-sama, his fears are valid. Killing a council member of Konoha is a high crime and the boy is now subject to the council's decision, not just your own in determining his fate." Hiashi said calmly. Inside he was ecstatic however. He had been trying to figure out a way to incriminate the boy without giving himself away and Tsunade had given him the rope he needed to hang the boy.

"What Hiashi-sama says is correct. Normally he would fall under your jurisdiction. However, if he proves a threat to the village as a whole then he can be brought up on charges by the whole council." Homura said after sharing a look with Koharu.

"That's right and I can tell you right now that he will feel the full punishment for his crimes! He will be executed!" Shouted one of the civilians, feeling bolder now that Hiashi and the two remaining elders seemed to be on their side.

"Oh he had a very good reason for killing Danzo." Tsunade said after fixing Hiashi with a glare.

"Oh? And what would that reason be?" Hiashi asked.

Tsunade proceeded to explain everything that had happened and how Danzo and Orochimaru were behind the kidnapping attempts and the subsequent battles.

"This is all speculation. Without some sort of hard evidence to verify your claims, we cannot accept anything the boy or his friends said." Hiashi said in a smug tone. The civilians also had smug looks on their faces as they knew that they were about to finally be rid of the boy.

"I don't' care whether or not you believe it or not. I didn't tell you to try and convince you. I already believe that it is true and don't hold Naru-chan responsible for anything." Tsunade said with a smug look of her own.

"And should the Daimyo learn about this? I'm sure that he would agree with us." Hiashi continued on the attack. He smiled when he saw Tsunade frown.

"I doubt he would call for the boy's death considering the fact that he is the container of the kyuubi as well as a few other circumstances." Koharu said though not many understood what she meant by "other circumstances".

Tsunade, Koharu, Homura and Shikaku knew about Naruto's parentage and knew that the Daimyo would learn about it as well should the civilians pursue this course of action. It was doubtful the man would be happy to learn what had happened to the leaf's greatest Hokage's son and to call for his execution would not go over well.

"Then I say we banish him from the village!" Shouted one of the members.

"I think that would be a good idea." Hiashi said, knowing that by himself, the boy would be easy enough to kill.

"I concur." Koharu and Homura said simultaneously. They didn't hate Naruto but they also didn't want such a loose cannon free in the village.

"You aren't going to banish the hero of the leaf village! He just killed two huge traitors of our village and you dare attempt to punish him for this?!" Tsunade shouted in fury. She was not the only one upset. Shikaku, Chouza, Inoichi, Tsume and Shibi were also enraged. However, they knew that should it come to a vote, which it would, they would be out voted.

"I'm afraid that it is out of your hands." Hiashi said smugly.

"Very well." Tsunade said with a deep sigh as her shoulders slumped and she walked to her table. The civilians felt victory in their grasp at her dejected tone and knew that they had won.

"What are you doing Hokage-sama?" Homura asked as he saw Tsunade begin to write on a scroll.

"I'm just making a checklist of everything I plan to take with me once you banish Naru-chan." Tsunade said in a nonchalant tone.

"W-what?!" Shouted one of the civilians.

"If you banish him then you will need a new Hokage for I shall go with him." Tsuande said much to the shock of the council. However, she was quickly backed up.

"The Aburame clan will secede from Konoha and follow you Tsunade-sama." Shibi said.

"As will the Yamanaka."

"As will the Akamichi."

"As will the Inuzuka."

"Troublesome, as will the Nara."

The council members were stunned. The entire shinobi council with exception of the Hyuga was threatening to leave the village for the boy.

"Have you gone mad?! This is the village that was created and led by your grandfather." Koharu said in shock.

"I'm aware of that. But my Grandfather and Granduncle didn't protect the village. They were protecting what the village stood for the "will of fire" and should Naru-chan be banished then so this principal will also be thrown out of our village. I refuse to sit here and allow you to try and get rid of the future of Konoha because of your own hatred and jealousy. There are plenty of other villages that would welcome him with open arms and I'm sure that a few blood limit clans would also help sweeten the deal. It's your choice. Do you still want to attempt to banish him?" Tsunade said with a smirk as she leaned back in her chair. This was one gamble that she knew she wouldn't lose.

"I withdraw the proposition." Hiashi said in a calm tone, though he was seething on the inside.

"As do I." Homura said.

"As do I." Koharu said as well.

The civilians, seeing that they had lost their support, lowered their heads in submission. Without Tsunade and the shinobi clans, they would be overrun by their enemies in mere weeks.

"Well I'm glad that we got that cleared up. I would have hated to have had to summon Gamabunta to destroy you idiots." Tsunade turned around to see Jirayia in the doorway, a stern look on his face.

"And just where have you been?" Tsunade asked in a curious tone.

"That's not important right now. You need to get the civilians to the bunkers and tell the remaining ninja in the village to prepare for battle." Jiraiya said in a grime tone.

"What? Why?" Tsunade asked in surprise as did the rest of the council.

"Orochimaru has amassed a large army and they are a few hours away from the gates." Jiraiya said simply.

**(A few miles outside of the village gates)**

Orochimaru was beyond furious. He had not only lost his sound five as well as Kabuto, but he had also lost Sasuke and any chance he may have once had in gaining the sharingan and learning every jutsu in the world! With Sasuke gone, only Itachi remained as the last pure blood Uchiha in the world. Kakashi wasn't of Uchiha blood and trying to take his body would never work as it wouldn't do him any good without a pure blood Uchiha. Trying to take over Itachi's body was suicide. He had attempted at one point when he was still a part of the Akatsuki. It had resulted in him losing his hand to the Uchiha and was forced to flee les he further incur the wrath of Itachi.

Without his elite guards and medic gone, as well as the loss of Sasuke, Orochimaru had finally snapped. He was going to raze Konoha to the ground the matter the cost! He had taken all of his remaining soldiers as well as any rogue ninja he could find and given them the curse seal. Only ten percent of them survived but he immediately sent these remaining ten percent through the process of reaching the second form. He had around two hundred and fifty curse sealed ninja with him and most were already little more than beasts in terms of mental capacity. It not only took a strong body to survive the curse seal but a strong mind as well. Few were able to retain their sanity or mental capacities in the second form, but Orochimaru didn't care! He would let these powerful beasts loose on Konoha and let them wreak havoc.

He had been watching Konoha closely and knew that they had suffered losses during the previous invasion. Since then he knew from Danzo's spies that Konoha had been attempting to keep up its appearance of strength by sending a majority of its most powerful members out to take on A and S-class missions. This meant that village was ripe for destroying. A larger village and attack force would have been noticed well in advance by Konoha scouts and the village would have had time to recall it's ninja to prepare. However, this was not the case with Orochimaru as his force was small but powerful. They had been able to sneak into fire country and were on the war path towards Konoha. They had killed the ninja guarding the borders and Orochimaru was confident that the village had no idea that they were soon to be upon them. He would soon summon Manda to break down their walls and set his abominations free. He would personally kill Tsunade and without their leader, the village would fall before him and he would finally see the leaf village burn!

"Forward! Kill them all!" Orochimaru shouted to his troops as they advanced to their second curse seal form, broke into three separate forces and began to run full speed towards the village.

**(Konoha council room)**

"Send out an order for the civilians to get to the shelters." Tsunade ordered the civilian council. They all scrambled out of the room with as much speed as they could. The earlier argument was forgotten for the moment. No matter the differences between them, the safety of the village outweighed everything else.

"Clan heads go back to your compounds and gather all of the ninja you can find. I want you to split the forces in half. One half of the forces will meet the enemy head first in the forest with the clan heads acting as generals over their ninja. The other half will remain in the village as a last line of defense as well as reinforcements. Go now and defend our village. Do not allow them to reach our walls!" Tsunade shouted out. The clan heads all nodded as one as rushed out to their compounds.

"I can't believe that he would try this." Tsunade said to Jiraiya when they were alone.

"It's the perfect time to strike. Roughly half of our forces are out doing missions to keep up appearances of strength. With a small enough task force, it wouldn't be that difficult to sneak up on Konoha and attack." Jiraiya told her.

"But a force that small can't be all that powerful." Tsunade said as she looked at her old teammate.

"They can be if they have the curse seal. That's neither here nor there. I'll be going now." Jiraiya said as his face took on a grim look.

"Going where? I need you to remain in the village in case Orochimaru's troops break through. I'm going to deal with the snake myself! I owe him for trying to kill Naru-chan and his friends." Tsunade said with a fierce expression.

"No Tsunade. It's my job to end Orochimaru. If I have the guts to take him out all those years ago then none of this would have happened. It's my fault and I plan to correct it. Besides, you're the Hokage. It's your job to stand tall and be the symbol of strength for the village." Jiraiya said with a small smirk.

"Are you sure you can do it Jiraiya? You know that Orochimaru was always the strongest of us. Not to mention that he was your friend." Tsunade said in concern.

"I'm hurt that you have no faith in me Tsu-hime. Don't you know that I've gotten much stronger over the years? Don't worry I can do this." He said with a wide smile.

"Make sure you come back alive you baka. I don't' want to lose you." Tsunade said as she gave him a surprising hug. She had lost so much in her life already that she didn't want to lose anyone else. Jiraiya may have been a pervert but he was loyal to a fault and was probably the only person in the village who knew her better than she knew herself. He was her constant. Someone she could always count on to be there for her without a moment's pause. The thought of losing him was not something she could put into words.

Even more surprising than the fact that Tsunade hugged Jiraiya was that the toad sage made not one perverted comment or action towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug. He loved Tsunade. He had for a long time and he knew that he would never stop. He had also accepted that she had fallen in love with Dan and believed that he would never be anything more than a friend, but he could always hope.

"Don't die baka." Tsunade said in an affectionate tone as she moved back.

"Careful Tsu-hime, I might actually start to believe that you care about me." He said with a teasing smile as he disappeared.

Tsunade waited for a moment before she moved to leave the tower and coordinate the remaining troops in the village.

'Come back to me Jiraiya.' She thought as she left the tower.

**(Nara compound)**

Shikaku gathered a force of twenty of his clansmen and made to defend the western front of the village. According to Jiraiya, the enemy had spread out into groups for the attack. Each of the groups was coming from a different direction while the largest force was coming straight towards the gates with Orochimaru as its leader. The Nara was never a clan that relied on power and Shikaku knew that they wouldn't be able to take on such a power force especially with Orochimaru there.

"While it's very troublesome, we are ordered to take out the enemy to the west. Let's go." Shikaku said in a bored tone as he led his clan out of the village gates and into the forest.

**(Akamichi Compound)**

"Find the enemy and crush them! These are our orders and we will accomplish them!" Chouza shouted as he led his troops to meet up with the Nara and the Yamanaka. These three clans had always been close and they would work together to take out one of the larger invading forces. There would be three fronts. As the village had the mountains to their back the attacking forces would have to come from the west, east and south. The Nara, Akamichi and Yamanaka were going to meet up and attack the western forces. The Inuzuka, Hyuga and Aburame were to attack the eastern forces while Jiraiya would take a majority of the non-clan ninja and anbu in the village to the south to face Orochimaru head on. Should the other clans finish off their opponents quickly then they were to move towards the south and help Jiraiya.

"Let's go!" shouted Chouza.

**(Hyuga compound)**

"The branch members of the clan will remain here to defend our compound and the village. The main house will accompany me to attack the enemies outside of the village." Hiashi said as the hyuga ninja in front of him nodded their understanding. As they moved out to gather their equipment, Hiashi pulled a few main house members to the side.

"I have a separate mission for the five of you. There are a few loose ends to be taken care of in the hospital. Clean up the mess." Hiashi said sternly. He had chosen five main house members who had no love for either Naruto or Hinata. Their dark smirks were enough to tell Hiashi that they would have no problem with their orders.

'Now that that's taken care of, it's time to defend my home. By the time I get back that boy should be dead.' Hiashi thought as he took his clan members to attack.

**(Inuzuka Clan)**

"I don't see why we have to fight with those pansy Hyugas. We can handle this all on our own!" Kiba yelled out as he walked beside his fellow clansmen.

"Shut up runt! I don't have time to hear your whining." Tsume said with a growl that made Kiba shrink back. She was no happier than he to have to work with Hiashi of all people but she was going to follow orders. Besides it had been a while since she had been able to cut back and have some fun.

"Listen up! Our orders are simple. We kill anything that is not of our village. I don't care who you are with, whether it's our clan or the Aburame or Hyuga. Work with them and repel the attacks. Half of you are going to remain in the village should a few get past our lines. In the unlikely event that should occur you had better dispatch them before they cause any damage. Is that understood?!" Tsume roared out. She was answered with affirmatives from her clan and howls from the canines.

**(Aburame clan)**

"Dispatch your opponents as quickly and efficiently as possible. If your hives begin to grow short then withdraw immediately." Shibi said to his men and women. They all nodded in understanding as they split of into two groups. The group behind Shibi ran to meet up with the Hyuga and Inuzuka.

**(Western gates)**

Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chouza had met up and gathered their troops together. In all there were about sixty clansmen and women who would be under the command of the clan heads. However, only about half of these were jonin in skill level. Most of the higher trained shinobi were still out on missions and wouldn't be able to make it back in time.

"Ino-Shika-Cho back together again." Inoichi said with a smirk.

"I'm glad you're so amused, this is going to be so troublesome." Shikaku responded.

"Not as troublesome as what will happen should we fail." Chouza said always the most serious of the trio.

"Let's go." Inoichi said as they left the gates and rushed into the trees to combat the enemy that awaited them.

They came into contact with their opponents no more than a mile outside of the village. They were shocked to see a group of cursed sealed enemies in front of them and knew that this battle wouldn't be easy.

"Chunin level ninja stay with the jonin. This isn't going to be easy." Shikaku ordered. His face was stern and any laziness was gone from his demeanor.

"I'll make a hole! **Spiked** **Human Bullet Tank!**" Chouze shouted out as his body expanded. His long hair began to stiffen and spike out as he rolled down into the group of seventy five enemy ninja. His attack only hit a few, but it served its purpose of splitting them apart. Chouza came out of his roll and was immediately attacked by one of the brainless monstrosities. However, the beast's attack was thwarted when a long black spike erupted out of its chest. It could only look down in wonder before it was skewered by no less than ten more. Chouze looked behind it and gaze Shikaku a smile of thanks.

"Don't be so hasty. These guys out number us and are more powerful than half of our forces. We'll have to be very careful." Inoichi stated as he met up with his two other comrades. They look around and saw chaos. Chouza attack had broken the enemy's lines but they had quickly recovered and were already attacking the three clans.

"It's going to be a long day." Shikaku said as they watched ten enemy ninja rush towards them.

**(Eastern gates)**

"I trust you are willing to listen to my orders?" Hiashi said to Tsume and Shibi as they all met up.

"As long as the orders are sound." Shibi returned calmly. Tsume simply snorted in derision at the Hyuga's tone. It was apparent that the Inuzuka and Hyuga clans had no love lost between them. The Hyugas were looking at the Inuzuka members as if they found their very presence slightly offensive. The Inuzuka were visibly snarling at the Hyuga's looks of superiority. The Aburame clan simply stood back and observed.

"We will hit them hard and fast. The Aburame's insects will find their location and then the Inuzuka clan should attack first with the Aburame clan backing them up to catch and stragglers who are injured or disoriented from the first attack. My clan will come last as the last overwhelming force." Hiashi more ordered than proposed.

"And your clan will take the least amount of casualties as well." Tsume all but growled.

"I would have thought that your clan would be all too happy to attack first. You are so hot headed that way." Hiashi said with an upraised eye-brow at Tsume.

"Enough. Hiashi's plan has merit Tsume-san. We will just have to very careful and be sure to support one another." Shibi said before Tsume could explode onto Hiashi like she desperately wanted to.

"Fine! Let's go and you had better stay out of our way Hiashi. I would hate for you and your clan to get your cloths dirty in a real fight." Tsume said as she and her clan left the gates.

"So uncivilized." Hiashi retorted as he and his clan followed.

'This may be problematic.' Shibi thought as his clan brought up the rear.

**(Main gates)**

"You all know what's going on and what's at stake. Do not allow them to breach the walls. If you see Orochimaru then fall back immediately! He's mine!" Jirayia shouted as he led half of the remaining konoha forces through the gates and into the forest. He knew that he was going to come across his former best friend and this time only one of them was going to walk away alive. He was determined to finally end the threat that Orochimaru posed to the village.

**(A few miles outside of Konoha)**

"Well this is certainly interesting. You think the snake will actually win this battle?" Kisame asked his silent partner.

"It matters not. Despite Konoha's best efforts, the snake's forces will eventually get inside of the village. When that happens we will sneak in during the confusion and do what needs to be done." Itachi responded I his usual tone.

"Can I finally kill that snake for what he did to our organization?" Kisame asked with a shark like smile.

"I really don't care. Should Orochimaru get in our way then do what needs to be done. If not then we won't worry about him. He's hardly strong enough to pose a threat to either of us. Don't forget our mission Kisame." Itachi said as they looked on as the first signs of the battle began to take place.

**(end)**

**Here's chapter 50! I want to say Happy MLK day to you all. Dr. King was a great man would did much for our country. I am very happy to celebrate his achievements for the civil rights movement.**

**How is this battle going to run its course? Who is going to protect Naruto from the forces outside as well as inside the village? What role with Kisame and Itachi play in the final outcome? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

**(Western gates)**

The battle was not going very well for the leaf ninja. Despite fighting opponents who were little more than mindless beasts, the leaf ninja were still outnumbered by their enemies and also about half of their forces were weaker as well. The chunin level ninja had to constantly be saved by their jonin allies to avoid a swift death.

Still the situation was not hopeless. The Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka clans had been allied together for years. They knew each other's moves well and were using that to their advantage. One member from each clan would group together and form a team of three. While alone, they were not able to match up with the enemy, together they focused on complimenting the strengths of their comrades and were slowly beginning to regain the ground they lost at the beginning of the battle. While the chunin banded together, the jonin level ninja were still left to fight alone as the enemy was simply to numerous for all of the members to band together.

Chouza smashed an enemy ninja's head into the ground, killing him. He looked up and saw Shikaku and Inoichi dispatch their opponents swiftly as well. The clan heads were doing well. They had fought together for years and fell back into a comfortable pattern of maneuvers easily. Chouza gave his friends a smile before he looked to his left. He saw a jonin of his clan fall before an enemy. However, there was something different about this one. While he was just as hideous as his fellow cursed sealed allies, he seemed to be able to think and fight effectively.

'I knew it was too optimistic to hope that they were all mindless beasts. He's going to be a challenge.' Chouza thought as he gave his friends a brief look before heading off to fight this foe.

Shikaku and Inoichi had their own problems to worry about. They too had located an enemy that seemed to be in possession of his mental capacities.

"We need to take them out. The others are easy enough to defeat. However, if we allow the ones who can plan and think to remain, they will be able to cause a lot more damage." Inoichi said.

"Troublesome." Shikaku replied as they leapt after their targets.

Chouza stood in front of the enemy that had just killed one of his clansmen. He could see the intelligence in his enemy's eyes. The other beasts he had killed were dumb, charging mosters. They were easy enough to kill as they had not the mind to fully use their power. Every one of the monsters under Orochimaru's command were low jonin level at the least in terms of strength. However, without the any form of intelligence, they were little more than nuisances to the trained Akimichi clan head.

"Oh another fat one has come to die." The beast snarled at him. This monster was truly a sight to behold. His skin was a dark grey and he was at least twice the size of Chouza. Not only was he larger, he was also covered in bone like armor. His head was encompassed by a large mask of bone with a long sharp protrusion coming from the middle. He looked like a giant rhino on two legs.

"Another?" Chouza said in confusion.

"You'll be the fifth of your clan to fall before me." He replied maliciously.

"We'll see!" Chouza said in fury as he rushed forward.

"**Partial Expansion: Arm!**" he shouted out as he right arm grew to the size of a giant. He smashed the opponent in the chest, launching the sound monster threw a tree.

'Hitting him is like punching steel.' Chouza thought as he held his bruised hand.

"Is that all? You have no chance at all if that's all you can do!" The beast roared as he appeared in front of Chouza completely unharmed.

'He took that blow without a hint of damage. That armor isn't just for show.' Chouza thought as he prepared himself.

"What do they call you?" Chouza asked as he thought of a way to get through that armor.

"My name is unimportant. You won't be alive long enough to remember it anyway." The man said as he charged at Chouza.

Chouza jumped to the side avoiding that large horn like appendage. The sound ninja pivoted and hit Chouza with a back handed fist. Chouza's eyes widened at the pain that went through his body from the blow and was thrown back.

"I recognize you. Orochimaru-sama showed us all the pictures of the leaf's most powerful ninja. You are Chouza Akimichi. I'm disappointed by how weak you." He said with a sneer as he rushed forward once again.

They traded blows for a few minutes but it was obvious that Chouza was at a disadvantage. No matter what he hit his opponent with, nothing could get through the bone armor surrounding his opponents body. Conversely, any hit he took from his opponent was enough to send him flying back. He now knew why his fellow clansmen had been unable take down this man. Chouza took double fisted punch to the chest and was sure he felt a rib or two crack. He was thrown back and his opponent began to laugh at his apparent victory.

Chouza got to his feet and spit out a bit of blood. His hair covered his eyes as he gazed down at the prone form of a deceased Akimichi at his feet. He had known this particular member of his clan very well. He could tell from the large hole in his chest that his demise had come at the end of the horn on this sound ninja's head. Chouza's hands clenched in rage. He turned to look at the nameless sound ninja running at him. He would no longer hold back. He began a set number of hand signs. Chakra began to slowly build around him before it exploded outward.

"**Akamichi secret style: Body conversion.**" Chouza said as his eyes were finally visible. They appeared as hard as stone. The sound ninja was about to quickly understand why the Akimichi clan, and Chouza especially were so widely feared. Chouza was a ninja who had fought in many wars. He remembered the third great ninja war and the loss of life that took place. He had lost many clan members to the much larger rock ninja army. Chouza himself had faced death on many occasions, but he had always been able to pull away with a victory. He was actually given a place in the bingo book for his achievements and prows in battle. He was known as "Konoha's immovable tank".

The sound ninja either did see or didn't care that Chouza had activated a jutsu. He rushed forward and like a rhino, attempted to skewer Chouza with his horn. However, he never expected what came next. Chouza's hand shot out and grabbed his horn halting all of the sound ninja's momentum instantly.

'Impossible.' The sound ninja thought as he finally noticed how Chouza had changed. All the fat that made up Chouza's body had converted into pure muscle. He was now twice as big as he was before and his muscles bulged out with barely restrained power.

Without saying a word, Chouza picked the sound ninja up with one hand and carelessly tossed him over his shoulder. The sound ninja flew through a few trees at high speeds. While not truly hurt, he was stunned by the ease his opponent had been able to throw him.

"This is one of the Akimichi's most powerful techniques. We normally rely on our girth to power our jutsu. However, sometimes muscles are more appropriate. This technique is only for those who have fully mastered our clan's jutsu." Chouza said in a harsh tone.

He rushed his opponent with renewed speed and hit him with a devastating punch to the chest. The armor on the sound ninja's chest began to crack under the force of the punch and for the first time in the battle, the sound ninja felt fear of his opponent. Not letting up, Chouza punched his opponent in the air. Chouza reached behind his back and pulled out a scroll. He quickly unsealed his preferred weapon of choice, a large double bladed battle axe.

Many thought the Akimichi's to be too old fashioned and fat to be ninja. The Akimichi disagreed. In their eyes no matter how fancy or extravagant a battle was to get, strength would determine the victor. Their bodies weren't made to move at extreme speeds or to use various high level techniques. Thus they prepared themselves for battle as best they could. They would make their bodies strong enough to take any blow while at the same time be able to dish out as much damage as possible.

Chouza watched as the sound ninja fell back towards the ground and whipped out with his axe. He caught the sound ninja in the arm and smirked with his felt the armor give way under the sharp blade and the force behind it. The ninja was thrown back and Chouza rushed forward to continue the battle.

The sound ninja was desperate and decided to us its trump card. He went on all fours and pointed his horn straight towards the quickly approaching tank of a man. His horn was not just for goring but also for long range. He gathered his chakra into the appendage and gave a roar as he shot the compressed tainted chakra towards Chouza. Chouza had no time to dodge and was hit full on by the beam of chakra. The sound ninja stood up with a pant of exhaustion. He had put a majority of his remaining chakra into that blast.

"So much for Konoha's immovable tank." He said with a laugh. However, his laugh cut short when he heard a sound. Chouza's axe spun out of the dust cloud that had been kicked up by the blast and severed the sound ninja's horn. He left out a roar of shock and fear when he saw the dust clear. Chouza hadn't been moved back an inch. He stood tall, a mountain of muscle and power. There wasn't a wound on his body.

"Nice try. However better men than you have attempted to topple me and all have fallen before me. Did you really think you were any different?" Chouza said as he rushed forward to end the fight.

The sound ninja picked up his severed horn and jabbed it at Chouza. Chouza made no move to dodge as the horn hit him right over his heart. The bone like horn shattered in the surprised ninja's hand as Chouza punched him in the face. The bone mask over his face shattered like glass and his was thrown back. He rolled on the ground and coughed up blood. His vision cleared just enough for him to see Chouza standing over him, his axe held in his hand.

"You were right about one thing. There was no need for me to know the name of a ninja such as yourself." Chouza said as he brought his axe down to end the nameless sound ninja's life. Chouza looked up to find his friends fighting battles of their own. He wanted to go and back the up but he could see that the other ninja from their clans were being overrun. Chouza rushed full speed toward them to provide back up. His jutsu would only hold for so long, he needed to make it count.

**(Nara Front)**

Shikaku found himself fighting against a very strange enemy. The sound ninja before him was very troublesome. The curse sealed man's second form gave him the weapons of a scorpion. His hands had two large pincers growing out from the wrists and two large scorpion stingers were coming out of his back. They were both about four feet in length and gave him a large advantage in terms of reach. Shikaku looked at all of the poisoned ninja left in the wake of the sound ninja and knew he was not one to take lightly.

"Don't think that I'm going to be as easy as the others you have beaten. I am one of the generals of this army." The sound ninja said.

"What makes you the general? I've seen, and killed others that seem stronger than you." Shikaku said in a bored tone.

"It's simple. Orochimaru-sama appointed the few of us that kept our minds after the procedure to be the generals. No matter how strong the force, there must be those calling the shots or else you would have had an easy enough time repelling us. Advantage in numbers and power are not enough when fighting against an opponent that can out think you. Isn't that right Shikaku Nara?" The man said with a sneer.

"You've heard of me." Shikakau said simply.

"Konoha's tactical genius, yes I have heard of you and I will be the one who will end you." He said with a laugh.

"Troublesome." Shikaku thought as he observed his opponent. He had already guessed the reason he was a general. Despite the numbers advantage he was sure that Konoha would have been able to overcome the odds as most of Orochimaru's forces were simply animals in thought. Easy to trick and easy to lead into a trap. However, the snake sannin was smart enough to appoint the ones who kept their intelligence in leadership positions. This would negate the ability to spring simple traps as they would command the troops back.

'This is not going to be very easy. Still if I can take him out then the rest of the troops under him will be easy enough to handle with our clansmen's combined might.' Shikaku thought as he prepared himself.

"Let's begin!" The man shouted as he shot his stingers towards Shikaku.

Shikaku jumped and watched as the poison began to seep into the ground he had just been standing on. Shikaku brought his hands together and his shadow shot out at the opponent. The sound ninja quickly jumped back until the shadow stopped as it reached its maximum range.

"I won't be caught by the **Shadow Possession Jutsu**. You'll have to do better than that." He shouted as he rushed towards Shikaku. Before Shikaku could bring his hands together to reactivate his jutsu, the sound ninja was on him. He attacked with his pincers and his tails. Shikaku was thrown on the defensive as he was forced to dodge every blow coming his way. He was half a second too slow and was nicked by one of the tails. He jumped back and hurled a few shuriken at his opponent. The sound ninja dodged and smirked in triumph. Shikaku looked at the tiny wound on his arm and could feel something strange happening to his body.

"You didn't take a big enough dose to die outright. However, my poison has other nasty effects when injected into someone's body." The sound ninja said with a laugh as he jumped into the trees.

Shikaku simply waited for his opponent to appear. He was in no rush and was content to wait. He couldn't feel any ill effects of the poison and wondered what he meant when he said that there were other nasty effects it would have. Shikaku closed his eyes for a moment before he was forced to jump to the side as a flash grenade fell at his feet. It went off and he was temporarily blinded. His vision cleared and he was skewered by a stinger. However, before the sound ninja could gloat, he transformed into a log.

The ninja turned around as saw Shikaku behind him, his hands locked together in the seal for the shadow possession technique. However his shadow began to waver and squirm around him. It didn't shoot out towards his opponent.

"My poison has the nasty after effect of disrupting one's chakra control. Thus, if any enemy were to survive the initial envenomation, they wouldn't be able to last long against me for very much longer. What can you do now without your precious shadows? I'm very interested and the others from your clan weren't much fun after they lost it. Maybe that's why so many fell to my stingers." The sound ninja said with a chuckle.

Shikaku didn't respond. His face was set in a determined expression and he removed his large deer skinned coat. He reached into a weapons pouch on his back and pulled out a very interesting weapon. He pulled out a Kyoketsu Shoge. The kyoketsu shoge was not a widely used weapon. It was simply a long chain with a long curved blade at the end of it. The chain stretched about nine feet and the one and a half foot blade was wickedly curved and serrated. Shikaku began to slowly twirl the blade in the air by the chain.

"Do you really expect to hit me with that? I thought you were the tactical genius of Konoha." The sound ninja taunted. He quickly shut up when a burning pain hit came to his chest. He looked down and saw the long cut that had been administered by Shikaku while his attention was diverted.

"It's troublesome, but this is where I get serious." Shikaku said simply as he rushed towards his opponent. He may not be able to use his shadows but he was far from a unilateral ninja who only trusted in one technique.

The sound ninja was put off by Shikaku's rush. He had never seen a Nara come at him with such ferocity. Shikaku was dodging every blow coming his way. It was as if he knew exactly what move was going to come and when it was coming. He was dodging even before the sound ninja could even begin to initiate the attack. What shook the sound ninja to the core though was that Shikaku had yet to use his kyoketsu Shoge. The chain was wrapped around Shikaku's body and the blade was clutched in his right hand. The Nara clan head had yet to attack.

With a roar of anger, the sound ninja thrust his two tails towards Shikaku's chest. Shikaku ducked underneath the twin stingers and slashed the sound ninja from groin to chest. The wound was not very deep but it was enough to force the sound ninja back. Shikaku jumped back and swung his weapon at the reeling sound ninja. The blade sank deep into the ninja's shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. He grabbed the chain and pulled Shikaku towards him. He would wipe that annoying blank look off of Shikaku's face. After the initial ferocious look, Shikaku's expression resumed its normal disinterested look. The sound ninja would not have Shikaku looking down on him or treating him as if he were little more than an annoyance.

Shikaku's gaze didn't change as he was pulled towards the nameless sound ninja. He saw the ninja pull back his stingers in preparation to skewer him while the claws on his hands rose up to clamp onto his flesh.

'How troublesome.' Shikaku thought as he made a hand sign.

'That's the hand sign for the shadow possession jutsu. Ha so much for the genius! He can't control his chakra well enough yet.' He thought as he saw Shikaku's face scrunch up in what appeared to be concentration.

"You still can't control your chakra well enough yet Nara! For a genius you surely fail to meet expectations!" he shouted as Shikaku came into range. He thrust his stingers and claws forward, or at least he tried. He found that he couldn't move! However, he was still able to push his stingers out enough that the Nara's own momentum would be enough to drive him onto the killing weapons.

Shikaku was still being pulled by his momentum and while he had been able to ensnare his opponent with his shadow possession jutsu, the twin stingers were still going to be driven through his chest if he didn't do something. The shadow possession jutsu could work in a number of ways. When the sound ninja had caught his blade, he had unknowingly connected his shadow with that of the Shikaku's chained weapon. As the weapon's shadow was connected to his own, the Nara leader didn't have to do anything but activate his jutsu. The connected shadows would do the rest.

'Still, being killed by someone like him would be far too troublesome.' Shikaku thought as he neared the stingers.

"Die!" Shouted the immobilized sound ninja.

"You talk too much. **Shadow Port**." Shikaku said simply as his shadow rose from the ground to engulf him. He suddenly disappeared.

The sound ninja regained his movement but was stunned by what he had seen. There was no way that he should have been able to do that! The poison should have still remained in his body and thus he shouldn't have been able to use his techniques.

"Where are you?!" He shouted at the surrounding trees.

"Behind you."

The sound ninja turned around but saw no sign of the Nara. How was he doing this? How could he appear and disappear out of thin air?! He was torn from his thoughts when he felt a deep slash being inflicted onto his back. He gave a cry as he soon began to feel deep, painful wounds appear on his body. Shikaku was using his shadow port technique to move through the shadows. He would appear in the ninja's blind spot and quickly disappear after inflicting some damage. Truthfully the Nara clan head could have ended the fight much sooner, but he felt it would be too troublesome to let the killer of a few of his clansmen off so easily.

Shikaku used his wickedly sharp blade to sever the tops of the stingers the sound ninja was using and finished by stabbing the weapon deep into the ninja's chest. He watched as the ninja fell to his knees in pain and exhaustion. Shikaku walked up to him and stood in front of the down ninja.

"Pathetic. To think that you are a general of this army." Shikaku said.

"H-how?"

"Troublesome. It's very simple. In that one brief moment that you allowed me to concentrate I had already analyzed how severely my chakra control had gotten and found a few hundred ways to get around it. While we had our little scuffle earlier, I had already figured out the best way to finish you off. By attacking you the way I did, I knew you would eventually grow more and more irritated by my expression and prediction of your attacks. Why do you think you were able to grab my blade? Had I truly wanted you dead I would have sent it through your head. I allowed you to grab it by intentionally burying it into your shoulder. I knew you would grow cocky and pull me towards you." Shikaku said as he looked down at the sound ninja as the cold clarity of his utter defeat was calmly and efficiently told to him.

"The shadow port technique allows one to briefly move between shadows. This is normally a very debilitating technique and the user can only stay in between the shadows for a brief amount of time before resurfacing. Still because of your panicked state, you were always a few steps behind me." Shikaku said simply as he turned to walk away.

"You won't beat me! I won't allow myself to lose to you. Die!" the sound ninja shouted as he grabbed one of his severed stingers and rushed forward to stab Shikaku in the back.

"How troublesome you are. **Shadow Possession.**" Shikaku said simply as his shadow connected with the sound ninja's.

"You really are troublesome. Did you really think you could kill me?" Shikaku said as she slowly turned around just enough to look out to corner of one of his eyes.

"You have no chance to defeat someone who is already five hundred moves ahead of you." Shikaku said simply as he turned to walk away again. Without even looking he threw the blade of his kyoketsu shoge into the head of the sound ninja. He pulled the blade out and turned to see Chouza fighting off a group of sound ninja.

'He must have gotten serious he would revert back to that form.' Shikaku thought as he used his shadow port technique to bring him side by side with his friend.

**(Yamanaka Front)**

Inoichi looked down at the dead body of the sound general he had just beaten. It had taken a bit of energy and concentration but nothing he couldn't handle. However, he looked up at the six curse sealed ninja that the general had been commanding they looked at him and with differing roars they charged at him.

Inoich was neither as strong as Chouza nor as brilliant as Shikaku. His clan's specialty was focused on understanding and controlling the mind. He had quickly discovered that using these techniques in this battle would be very dangerous. It was not wise to walk through the mind of an incredibly powerful, wild beast, which was all the monsters running at him were on a mental level.

Every blood line had a danger to it and his was no exception. The Yamanaka had to be very careful in the mind of others. Not just for the victim's sanity but for their own. While they did enter their opponent's mind, they were in extreme danger should the subjects mind be either very strong or very wild. They could easily get pulled into the victim's mind and lose their own sense of individuality and personality. It was the danger of merging your mind to another's. The stronger mind would win. While he was not afraid of being beaten mentally by a human, these beasts were different. With their massive amounts of tainted chakra and utter madness and fury running rampant in their minds, he would surly go insane himself should he attempt to take over their minds.

'Though that doesn't seem to be a problem in this situation. They won't allow me to enough time to attack.' Inoichi thought as he ducked and dodged the six mindless monsters. He found that he truly didn't have an opportunity to do anything but dodge. Beast they may be, but they were still very strong and fast. If not for a subtle technique he was currently using, he would find himself dead already.

He had been using the **Mind scan** jutsu from the beginning of the fight. It was the reason he had been able to defeat the general so quickly. He had simply seen what he was going to do and when he planned to do it and attacked when his opponent had left his guard open. The mind scan technique was simply a brief scan of the opponent's mind that allowed a Yamanaka to see what an opponent planned to do seconds before they did it. It required extreme concentration and precision to not only stay aware of what they were currently doing when they used the technique but to process what their opponent was going to do and force their body to react in time. It wasn't easy as it was literally doing three things at once while being attacked. Still, he wasn't known as the "Mind walker of Konoha" for nothing.

However, in his current position, his mastery of the technique was keeping him alive just barely. The amount of information coming from the six separate minds was slightly disorientating and it was a struggle to process all of it and avoid death.

'I need space to work!' Inoichi thought as he pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground. The monsters roared in anger at having lost their prey and began to search for him.

Inoichi was in the trees, looking down at the beasts. They weren't going to give him any time to react once they found him, which meant he would have to do this quickly.

"**Mind destruction justu!**" He whispered as he cast his jutsu. He took out a kunai and threw it at the back of the creature he had thrown it at. Alone, his technique would mostly likely not have worked on the beast. Its mind was already wild enough that directing it towards its ally with no other stimulus would be pointless. However, once the kunai struck its back, it roared as it turned around and looked at the monster behind it. From there it was simple enough to send small, subtle messages to the beast's mind that its own ally was at fault. From there he watched as the two beasts tore into each other.

'Sometimes it's the subtle suggestions that work the best.' He thought as two of his enemies killed each other. That left four more to go, however, his time of rest was over.

The four remaining sound ninja looked up and saw him as they ignored their two dead comrades. They smashed the tree he was in down and leapt towards him. He dodged in the air as best he could but was still injured by one of them as his right arm was bitten into. Inoichi clinched his teeth in pain as he pulled out a kunai and stabbed the monster through the eye, killing it. He jumped back as the remaining three rushed him. He was in a tough bind and needed to think of something. He looked as the three beasts circled around him. They were now stalking their prey and toying with him.

'I'm no one's play thing.' He thought in annoyance as he decided on a very dangerous move. The first beast jumped at him and he was out of time.

"**Mind Swap Jutsu!**" He yelled out as he pointed to the beast flying at him. Its growl became a yelp of confusion as he fell to the ground. He pointed to the second and third beasts and they too fell to the ground. His face was strained as he pointed to each of the beasts once again and then fell to his knees. The three monsters began to move once again but their movements were jerky and unsure. Before they could gain their bearings he threw his remaining explosive tags towards them causing a massive explosion that killed them instantly.

The mind swap jutsu was one of the most powerful that the Yamanka possessed and it was actually forbidden for all except a handful to use. As opposed to the mind transfer jutsu, the mind swap technique actually pulled the opponent's mind into his own. There he kept them until he forced them back into a body. However, he didn't have to put them back in the body they originally came from. He had grabbed all three of the beast's minds and put them in a different body. The disorientation of awaking in a completely different body gave him all the time he needed to kill them. The danger of the jutsu was that unless the caster was fully trained they would be overwhelmed by their opponent's minds. Inoichi was just able to keep all three restrained long enough to place them into separate bodies. Also, should he have killed them before placing them into a body, they would have been stuck in his head.

'Not the easiest thing in the world to do, but it gets the job done.' He thought as he rushed over to help his two friends.

"Took you long enough Inoichi. I thought Shikaku and I would have to handle this alone." Chouza said; now back in his original form. All three of the clan heads were panting in exhaustion. Behind them were their remaining troops. They had lost many but the enemy forces were now without their commanders and they had lost two thirds of their forces. Still, they stared at the combined Konoha forces and rushed forward in attack. They had no fear for their own lives as they weren't intelligent enough to have self-survival instincts. They were to kill anything in front of them and they would take down all that they could.

"For Konoha!" The original Ino-Shika-Cho members shouted as they charged with their forces.

**(Eastern Gate)**

Tsume Inuzuka was enjoying herself greatly. Despite hating Hiashi's comments earlier, the Inuzuka clan did enjoy a good battle. She was currently clawing her way through an enemy that had gotten far too close to her. She took the moment of peace to look and see how her troops were doing. Hiashi's plan had worked out so far. After finding the enemy, her clan had hit hard and fast. The Aburame clan had come next and while their insects weren't very effective in draining the tainted chakra that was flowing through the bests, they were good at distracting and further confusing the already off kilter opponents.

However, Tsume was angered at the lack of combat the Hyuga were participating in. Instead of coming immediately after the Aburame's attack as Hiashi himself had suggested, they had waited for a few minutes to see in what way the battle was going to turn. This had resulted in a loss of life of a few of her clansmen and a few Aburame as well. She looked over to Shibi who was finishing off and opponent and could see a hint of anger in his face as well.

'Me and that stuck up teme are going to have words after this!' Tsume snarled as she saw Hiashi calmly dispatch an opponent with a jyuuken strike to the heart.

Tsume was broken out of her thoughts when she saw Kiba and Hana tag team against a group of cursed sealed beasts. She felt pride at seeing her children fight so well in defense of their village. Inuzuka were notoriously territorial and would protect their homes until death. Tsume turned and looked at her canine companion Kuromaru when he growled to get her attention.

"Let's go Tsume, you can admire your parenting skills later." He said to her.

"Fine, there are plenty of enemies to take care of." She said as she ran off with Kuromaru.

Kiba and his big sister Hana were currently facing off against two of the enemy ninja.

"I may have been left out on the retrieval mission to catch the Uchiha but now's my time to shine right Akamaru!" Kiba said as Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Don't get cocky runt." Hana shouted as she dodged a strike from her opponent. Hana was a chunin level ninja who was considered to be one of the best veterinarians around. She turned to her three companion canines, the Haimaru brothers.

"**Inuzuka style: Evolution!**" She shouted to them. The Haimaru brothers barked in acknowledgment as chakra began to swirl around them. They grew until they were about double their original size. They let out howls that shook their opponent to its core. As one they attack from all sides. With their increased size, strength and speed, they swiftly reduced their opponent to shreds.

The three brothers jumped back and turned to their master. They let out barks of warning as Hana turned around and saw an additional monster rise up behind her. Strangely enough, she wasn't at all panicked. She ducked under the beast's claws and ran up to it. She leapt in the air and raised her clawed hand. She stabbed the beast in a specific spot on its chest and calmly pulled her fist out and walked away. The monster went to pursue her until it fell forward. It was dead before it hit the ground. As a medic and vet she knew the best places to hit to take out any animal, even genetically alter ones like the ones they were fighting.

"Don't just stand there. Let's keep going." She shouted to her three nin-canines.

Kiba watched his older sister easily dispatch her opponent and smiled at the beast running towards him. He was actually pretty upset that he hadn't been allowed to go on the mission to retrieve Sasuke but he had been training with his family at the time and hadn't known what was going on until later on. He was very upset that all of his friends growing up were either in the hospital or had been captured. He was looking for something to take his frustration out on and an invasion of mutated beasts was exactly what he needed to relieve his aggression.

"Let's go Akamaru! **Man Beast Combination: Double Headed Wolf!**" Shouted Kiba as He and Akamaru combined in a large puff of smoke. In their place was a huge two headed white wolf. The beast snarled at the curse sealed opponent in front of him as it charged and attacked with its claws. The giant wolf was able to damage the monstrosity but to his surprise the beast repaired the damage and leapt onto the wolf's body. It began attacking the underside of the combined genin's belly and the wolf let out a yelp of pain. It jumped into the air and began to spin. The sound ninja fell to the earth and crashed into the ground. It slowly began to heal itself, but was never allowed to finish.

"**Garouga!**" the two headed wolf began to spin faster and faster until it resembled a large cyclone as it headed towards its downed opponent. When in their two headed form, Kiba and Akamaru were actually unable to see their opponent when performing this technique. This was one of the reasons that he had yet to use it in the battle. While it would take out quite a few enemy ninja if used against the sound ninja army as a whole, without being able to distinguish between friend and foe would result in him harming some of his own allies which was unacceptable.

Thankfully, their opponent had a bit of their blood on it from when it attacked earlier. Thus, the attack hit him dead on before he could rise from the ground and fully heal itself. So powerful was the hit that the sound ninja was ripped completely in half. There was no chance of regeneration this time.

Kiba and Akamaru split apart and tried to reassess their situation. They had just used their two newest techniques and it was very draining on them as the moves were not yet fully completed. He looked up and was horrified to see two sound monsters heading his way. He got to his feet and prepared to attack them when Hana jumped between them.

"Stop trying to do everything yourself Kiba." Hana said as her canines attacked the two foes. She quickly rushed over and began to heal her little brother. The lack of sight in combination with the high speed he was moving at when he used the garouga was enough to cause him to injure himself and Akamaru. When he was fully healed, they attacked together and covered each other's backs.

They had just finished with their opponents when Kiba heard a strange flapping sound in the distance. He turned and was shouted to see what could only be described as a huge bat coming his way. This sound ninja was a very strange sight indeed. His body was nearly pitch black in color. His ears were pointed and his long hair was raised in a gravity defying position. His eyes were blood red and he smiled showing his fangs. He landed directly in front of Kiba and his sister and gave a deep laugh.

"What do we have here? It seems that I've found my next meal. You Inuzukas are so very tasty!" he said as he licked his fangs.

"What did you say?!" Kiba shouted as he prepared to rush forward. He was grabbed by Hana who was looking at the ninja with a critical gaze. He was the first she had come across that could actually speak. The other simply roared or growled as they attacked head first. They were easy enough to deal with as long as she kept herself from getting surprised. However, there was something different about him. This one seemed to possess his mental functions and that made him exponentially more dangerous than the others.

"I forgot your clan is as dumb as the beasts that are currently under my command. I'll have to simply dumb it down for you. I have already killed many of you clansmen and they tasted very delicious." He said with another deep laugh.

"You'll pay for that!" Kiba shouted as he broke out of Hana's grip and charged forward.

"**Tsuuga!**" Kiba said as he and Akamaru spun into miniature tornados of fangs and claws and attacked the ninja.

With a smirk, the sound ninja took to the air. Kiba and Akamaru came out of their attacks and looked up at the floating enemy.

"Come down and fight you coward!" he shouted to the ninja.

"So impatient, but what could you expect from an animal such as yourself." The ninja responded with a smirk as his wings began to glow.

Kiba, not noticing the coming danger, charged at his enemy with another tsuuga.

"Watch out Kiba!" Hana shouted as she watched the sound ninja give a mighty flap of his winds. High powered winds slammed into Kiba and threw him painfully into the ground. The ninja shot out of the sky towards Kiba.

Hana was already moving after her brother was taken by surprise. Her ninja canines were right behind her and already in their powered up forms. They attacked as one and attempted to take the ninja out. However, he had heard them coming with his sensitive ears and turned around to grab Hana by her throat. He swung his wings again and blew her canines back. He stepped on Kiba's prone form and began to squeeze Hana's throat. She clawed at the arm holding her but to no avail.

"Such a pretty thing you are. I wonder how you taste." He said as he opened his mouth and sank his fangs into Hana's shoulder. She cried out in pain as she felt the enemy ninja begin to drain her. However he wasn't taking her blood but her chakra instead. She could feel her chakra being drained from her body at a rapid rate and her vision began to darken.

"Let go of her!" Kiba shouted as he attempted to move the leg being pressed to his chest. He gave a cry of pain as the sound ninja applied more pressure to Kiba's chest without looking up from his meal. He could tell that the ninja he was currently draining didn't have much time left. She had already lost consciousness. It wouldn't be long now.

He released his bite on her and flew into the air to avoid the strike that was coming from his blind spot. He looked down to the elder female that had come. He could tell from her appearance that she was the mother of the two who he had defeated and to his surprise it was Tsume Inuzuka. She was widely known as one of the best tracker ninja in the world. "Konoha's blood hound" is the title she had been given in the bingo book.

"Let her go." Tsume said in a deathly low tone.

"And if I were to say no? She is very tasty after all. I believe that her chakra has been the best I have eaten all day." He said with a grin as he opened his mouth and brought Hana's throat up to his mouth.

"You'll die by my hand you freak!" Tsume snarled in fury.

"Oh? Very well, Tsume Inuzuka, show me how powerful you are. I'm sure that after I'm finished draining you of your chakra I can finish what I have begun." He said as he carelessly threw Hana's body to the side. Tsume ran and grabbed her daughter. Other than having very low chakra in her body Hana seemed alright.

"Kiba, take you sister behind our lines and get her some help." Tsume said as her son came up beside her.

"What? But I want a piece of that freak too!" He said in anger. It was his fault that Hana had been caught after all. She was trying to protect him and it wouldn't have been necessary had he simply listened to her warnings.

"That wasn't a suggestion! Take your sister now you runt!" Tsume shouted at Kiba as she hit him.

"Fine." Kiba said as he grabbed his sister and began to run to get her some help. Akamaru and the Hiamaru brothers were right behind him.

"Are you sure that was the best choice for you to do? You don't really think you can defeat me all by yourself do you? That is insane. Oh well, your clan is full of stupid mutts after all. I guess I can't fault you for not being very intelligent." The sound ninja said with a smirk.

Tsume said nothing. She simply watched as Kiba ran to safety. She then unzipped her jonin jacket and threw it to the ground. She turned to Kuromaru and he nodded his head in agreement.

"You'll see what happens when you dare raise your hand against my children." Tsume said as she began to make a long list of hand signs.

"Oh? Very well then, show me how powerful you are." He said as he waited to see what the feral woman had up her sleeve.

"**Inuzuka style secret art: Canine Symbiosis!**" Tsume shouted as Kuromaru was surrounded by chakra. He soon disappeared in a swirl of chakra that began to spin around Tsume. She fell to her knees as she began to change. Her cloths began to rip as he grew in size. Her already sharp nails turned into claws that could rend steel. Black coarse fur began to grow on her body. Her hair grew until it reached her ankles. Her face took on a more canine look as and her mouth was filled with razor sharp fangs. She looked up at her prey and with a snarl she let loose a howl that shook the very core of the sound ninja.

This was one of the most powerful techniques that her clan possessed. It allowed a ninja and their nin-canine to combine. It was different from Kiba's twin headed wolf in that she kept her human form. It was a very difficult technique to use as there was the tendency to allow the instincts of the canine and the human to overwhelm the logical part of the brain. Had she not the strength to control herself, she would have been nothing more than a mindless wolf.

"You're little transformation means nothing to me!" He shouted as he swung his wings and sent chakra infused wind at her. Tsume disappeared. The sound ninja was stunned. She hadn't dodged to the left or right, she had simply disappeared.

"Where did she go?" He asked quietly as he looked around. He got his answer when he felt razor sharp claws slash into his back. He fell to the ground and looked up to see the transformed Tsume diving towards him. He jumped back as she slammed into the ground creating a large creator. He met her eyes and saw the raw feral rage in her slit orbs.

"I won't be beaten by a mutt like you! **Earth Style: Stone Pillars!**" He shouted as he slammed his hands into the ground. Large stone columns rose from the ground and made their way towards Tsume. The female leader of the Inuzuka gave a small growl as she ran towards the attack. Her increased speed and strength allowed her to smash through each and every one of the attack. However, she was confused as to how the sound ninja knew of such an attack. It was used mostly by members of her clan.

"I can see you are interested in my little trick. It's quite simple. When I feast on the chakra of others I also gain a list of their most frequently used jutsu. It doesn't even matter what element the jutsu is. After I eat their chakra I take on their element affinity." He said with a smirk as he began to create more hand signs.

"**Tsuuga!**" he yelled as he began to spin and launched himself towards Tsume. Tsume snorted in annoyance and waited. When the sound ninja collided with her, she stood her ground. She could feel the sharp nails of the enemy clawing into her body but still she stood tall and waited for the best moment. She got her wish and slashed out with her claws. It caught the enemy on the shoulder and nearly sheared the limb off of his body.

With a cry of pain and shock he jumped back and looked at the Inuzuka leader. The wounds on her body were small and were already healing. She smirked at him and began to chuckle.

"You really think you can beat me with the attacks of my clan? It seems that you are the ignorant mutt here, not me." Tsume said with an outright laugh.

"How dare a lowly dog like you talk down to me?! Not only will I kill you but I'll have some fun with that pretty daughter of yours before I send her and that runt of a son you have to the afterlife with you!" He shouted as he threw done a smoke bomb.

He jumped into the smoke and began to attack the half hybrid. However, he was finding it impossible to hit her! He knew that she couldn't see in this smoke. The only reason he could attack her was because of his heightened sense of hearing. It couldn't be her nose as he had been sure to secretly throw a smelling salts pellet into the smoke before he attacked. She shouldn't have been able to smell.

"**Earth style: Rock Claws.**" He heard. He felt an agonizing pain in his lower back, around the area of his kidneys and struck blindly at the wolf woman. He was surprised when his arm was caught easily. The smoke dispersed and he saw the Inuzuka woman. She held his arm with no difficulty and he saw her other hand raised above her head. Four long stone claws were formed around her hand. Before he could do anything, she swiped down with the claws twice, completely tearing his wings from his body.

"You threaten my children. You kill me clansmen. You insult my clan. For all of these transgressions I will happily send you to hell where you belong." Tsume said as the stone claws disappeared. She plunged her hand into his chest and viscously ripped out his heart. She let the body fall to the ground as she crushed the organ she held in her hand.

"**Canine Symbiosis: deactivate.**" She said as a swirl of chakra left her body and took the form of Kuromaru.

"You okay Tsume?" He asked.

"I nearly lost my children." She said softly.

"But you didn't. Now suck it up and get your head back in game. They may still die unless you hurry up and take out the rest of these ninja." He said in a firm but not unkind tone.

"You're right, sorry about that. Let's go!" She shouted as she rushed to engage another opponent.

**(Aburame Front)**

Shibi Aburame stood with his clan as they attempted to make some headway in attacking their opponents. The Aburame found themselves at a disadvantage in that their insects couldn't absorb the tainted chakra that was used by their opponents. The insects would die before they could effectively cripple the opponent, and without their insects, the Aburame were in a bad predicament. After their initial attack on the already disoriented enemy, the Aburame had been fighting a losing battle. They didn't have the raw physical strength of the Inuzuka, nor the chakra based attacks of the Hyuga.

Shibi jumped over an attack form an enemy and thought about what he could do. He had talked to his son about his battle against an opponent like these but his son had survived more from Haku's assistance then from having found an effective way to defeat his opponents. As his son had told him, he had lost around three fourths of his hive and most of the losses were from sending them on suicide runs. Shibi knew that the loses of his clan were going to be high but he refused to allow them to be wiped out which seemed to be the outcome if things continued as they were. The Inuzuka and Hyuga were too preoccupied with their own battles to provide assistance.

'Maybe we have been going about this in the wrong way.' Shibi thought as he sent out his insects to recall all of his troops to him. He couldn't help the moment of grief he felt when he saw that he had roughly half of the forces he had brought to the battle left alive. He shook himself out of it and instead focused on a way to with the battle he was in. when his forces had left the front lines, the enemies they were fighting had regrouped and were currently rushing full speed towards the Aburame. They outnumbered the insect using clan by about two to one.

"Take to the trees. We will win this battle through brains, not bran." Shibi ordered his clansmen.

"How can we fight them? Our insects cannot survive by eating their chakra." One Aburame asked.

"Then we will have to defeat them in another way." Shibi said as he explained what he had in mind.

They all nodded and leapt into the trees to begin Shibi's plan. He stood on the ground and prepared for the charge. He would hold them as long as he could to buy his men the time they needed to complete their counterattack.

"**Spider Entrapment**." Shibi called out as he ensnared one of the opponents coming his way. He pulled the beast towards him and slammed it into the ground a second before he plunged his kunai into its skull. He jumped back to avoid an attack from another beast. He sent his insects toward the beast's face to dispute its sight. He rushed towards it and punched it in the face. He then jumped back and activated the explosive note that he had placed on the beast's chest after he had punched it. It exploded and took out another monster closest to it.

He was then put on the defensive as the rest of the bests continued to attack him. There were far too many and he was being overrun by them. He jumped back and threw a kunai into the head of one of the beasts only for it to bounce off the bone plate than protected this one's head.

"**Aburame style: Stinging Death**." He said as two long stingers extended out of his sleeves. He rushed forward and began to stab and ting his opponents. The stingers held a very complex poison that was both fast acting and debilitating to an opponent. However, these curse sealed beasts seemed to be able to burn the poison out of their systems after a minute at the most. However, Shibi wasn't looking to kill them with the poison, simply slow them down.

He then retracted the stingers and turned to run away. The beasts regained their strength and rushed after him. Shibi jumped into the air and landed with his back to the beasts. He stood perfectly still as the first few to reach him fell into the ground. His clansmen had been busy and had quickly excavated a large amount of earth to create a hole in the ground that they covered with a small genjutsu. The beasts that fell into the pit were covered by voracious beetles and maggots that feasted on the beasts flesh. The other beasts saw the hole and jumped over it to attack the Aburame clan head.

Shibi didn't move as his clan attacked. They came from all sides and attacked in coordination that hadn't been seen before. Still Shibi didn't move. The beasts were slightly confused. The prey that they had been having an easier time with before was now incredibly difficult to kill. They attacked like a group of angry hornets but where impossible to hit. They were moving in perfect coordination as if someone was controlling them from afar and telling them from where danger was coming from. What the beasts didn't know was that Shibi was the reason that the remaining Aburame clansmen were fighting so well.

The Aburame clan held a close relationship with the insects that resided in their bodies. While this partnership made the insects more sensitive to the emotions of the Aburame, the influence went both ways. The Aburame found that they could, like insects, have and utilize a hive mind. It was incredibly difficult and only the current clan head was allowed to use the technique.

Shibi's silence and immobility was because he was currently directing and ordering all of the members of his clan. He was seeing what every one of them saw and had to coordinate them through the use of all of the information coming to him. It was a daunting task and he was having a hard time keeping it up. The mental strain it was placing on him was enormous and he was on the brink of exhaustion. He could feel his clansmen responding to his exhaustion as a few of them lost their lives as he was not able to warn them of the coming danger in time for them to react. However, right before he was about to pass out and the fighters overwhelmed, Shibi got the acknowledgment from the remaining members of his clan that were not currently fighting that the final stage of the pan was finished.

Shibi called off his remaining troops and jumped out of the range of what was to come. From all corners of the forest, strands of silk wrapped around the remaining creatures. They were soon bound together in a sticky mass of webbing and were unable to move.

"It's time. **Summoning Jutsu**!" Shibi shouted as he slammed his hand into the ground. His clansmen did the same as a mass summoning took place. Out of the clouds came insects of all types. Shibi had intentionally set the few members of his clan that could summon various insects aside and told them to wait. When the time was right and they had been able to whittle the enemies' numbers down to a manageable number, they would then give the signal and activate the spider entrapment. With them grouped together and without a way to escape, the enemy would be at the mercy of the insects.

Shibi's herculean beetle went forth with other different species of insects summoning family and attacked the beasts. The insects were not very fast at all, thus the reason for trapping their opponents. Also the insects would only eat as much as they needed to survive. The partnership between the summoned bugs and the Aburame clan was always a bit strained in this way. It was a moot point at this time as the bugs devoured the monstrosities and promptly returned to the summoning realm.

Shibi fell to his knees and was helped up by a few of his comrades. His chakra supply was very low and he needed to rest before he would be able to fight again. It was a good thing that the battle was over, at least for the moment.

**(Hyuga front)**

Hiashi smiled at how well his clan was doing. Being the last to arrive at the battle, the Hyuga had taken the least amount of casualties. He had ordered that all that fell to the enemy be taken back with them. He wouldn't risk the byakugan being taken. He could have ordered the main house to remain in the village and taken the branch family with him but that brought with it more risks. He wouldn't put it past a few of the branch members from being insubordinate. Should that happen and he activate the curse seal on their forehead then the others may refuse to fight and it would show dissension within his clan to the Inuzuka and Aburame.

Also, he couldn't take the risk of others finding out and ridiculing him. The clan was still suffering from the loss of image after Neji's atrocious actions during the chunin exams. His banishment only made the people look at his clan as those that cared nothing for one another and only about the clan as a whole. While this was true, it didn't help their image. Should the village see that only the branch members were to be taken out to fight the enemy, especially since they were considered to be second best in everything, the village would accuse Hiashi of holding back his best fighters for his own gains. Despite how powerful the Hyuga were, he didn't need the Hokage and council turning against him. His attempts to regain Hinata hadn't worked out the way he wanted. Not only had she refused but Danzo had failed to deal with her.

'No matter. Both she and the demon boy will soon be taken care of.' Hiashi thought as he finished off another opponent that approached him.

The jyuuken style seemed to work perfectly to take out these monsters. Without the mental capacity to use their power effectively, they were simple enough to take out with a few strikes. After all, the jyuuken was meant to take out powerful but poorly coordinated enemies. His clan would come out of this battle having taken the least amount of damage and their image of strength would only increase.

"Hiashi-sama!" One of the members beside him cried out.

Hiashi turned to look at what could have startled the man and was surprised to see two of his clansmen be killed right before his eyes. The culprit was a creature different from the others. Hiashi saw intelligence in the eyes of this beast. He seemed to be able to predict from which direction an attack was coming and counter with the long blades that seemed to sprout from all over his body.

"I will handle this. Continue our assault. When you are done help the Inuzuka and Aburame." Hiashi ordered.

"Sir?" questioned one of his men. Hiashi was not known for his compassion or for his acts of kindness.

"I think it will be very funny to have those two clans in our debt." He said simply.

"Yes sir!" the subordinate said as he rushed off the carry out Hiashi's will.

Hiashi watched as the enemy ninja looked at the leader of the Hyuga clan. Hiashi could see that he was trying to assess how dangerous Hiashi was. He roared and ran at him. Hiashi saw an opening and knew that it was a trap. He jumped back, much to the surprise of the sound ninja.

"I can tell that you aren't like the rest of your troops. Your little act of being a beast cannot fool my eyes." He said simply as he pointed to his byakugan.

"Finally an opponent where my little acting trick didn't work. Maybe you'll provide me with some entertainment." The beast said as he dropped the stooped posture and stood straight and somewhat regal.

"Entertainment? You obviously don't know who you are talking to. I am Hiashi Hyuga leader of the Hyuga clan which is the most powerful in Konoha." Hiashi said as he slipped into the Jyuuken stance.

"Really? Well that works out well for me. Killing you will make me famous!" The sound ninja said as he jumped into the air and began to spin as he attacked Hiashi.

Hiashi was put on the defense immediately. The blades were coming from all directions and there was no discernable pattern to this style to attack. His byakuga showed him his opponent's moves but they were so random and quick that the leader of the hyuga was hard pressed to do more than dodge. He took a slash to the cheek from one of the blades and another to the thigh.

"**Kaiten!**" he shouted as he began to spin and produced the chakra dome. The enemy ninja slammed into the shield and bounced off.

"Impressive! I haven't faced an opponent as strong as you for a while. The rest of your clan members died quickly against me."

"I am not the leader of my clan for no reason. I am the best at the jyuuken style. You should feel honored to die by my hand." Hiashi said as he rushed forward. He would go on the attack this time as he could find absolutely no openings when he allowed the sound ninja to initiate the battle.

"**Eight Trigrams: Mountain Crusher!**" Hiashi shouted as he thrust his arm forward. A wave of highly compressed chakra flew from his palm and slammed into the opponent. The sound ninja was thrown back and threw three trees. The technique Hiashi had just used was a very powerful one. That wave of chakra was known to be able to break thrown stone, hence its name as mountain crusher.

"Not bad at all!" Said the sound ninja as he pulled himself out of the rubble. He seemed to not have been hurt by that technique.

'I see.' Hiashi said as his byakuagn saw the swirl of chakra running through the sound ninja. He wanted to test his theory and rushed forward once again.

"**Eight Trigrams: 64 strikes!**"

Hiashi attacked with the renowned attack and began to strike at eh sound ninja. He's eyes narrowed at something that verified his earlier hypothesis. To anyone else, they would think that Hiashi's strikes were doing their job and leaving the sound ninja defenseless. The sound ninja was even crying out in pain as was expected. It seemed that Hiashi had the victory won. Hiashi jumped back just in time to avoid being skewered by three of the blades of the opponent though he was caught in the shoulder.

"I see. Those blades of yours can morph into plates to protect you from my chakra based attacks. Just as the blades can move throughout your body, so can the plates. You only pretended to be hurt by my strikes, all the while waiting for me to become assured of my victory and then you would have taken advantage and killed me." Hiashi calmly stated as he assessed how much damage he had taken. His shoulder and thigh were wounded. His speed was lowered slightly from the thigh wound and he couldn't lift his left arm because of the pain.

"Very clever of you to notice. However, with only one arm and one leg, you're hardly a challenge. You fell for the same thing your clansmen did. You are so assured that your style is perfect that you don't notice the subtle things I do to gain victory. For a group possessing the so called 'all seeing eye' you are truly blind." The sound ninja said with a laugh.

"You shouldn't underestimate me." Hiashi said as he tried to buy time to think of a way to win the battle. One arm would be enough to win, however, the Hyuga style relied on strong and precise foot work. With one of his legs injured he was in trouble.

"I don't make such mistakes! Die now Hiashi Hyuga!" The sound ninja shouted as he jumped and began to spin once again. He attacked as he did before and Hiashi was soon finding himself taking multiple blows from his opponent. His eyes were keeping him alive as he was able to dodge any fatal injuries but he was beginning to take a number of smaller injuries.

'I must end this now!' Hiashi thought in annoyance as he began to spin once again.

"**Kaiten!**" he shouted. However, his leg faltered and the dome shattered around him.

"Die!" The sound ninja shouted as he jabbed his blades towards Hiashi.

"Hiashi-sama!"

The sound ninja was surprised to see a hyuga jump between him and Hiashi and take the blades that would have ended the Hyuga's leader life. Not one to let such an advantage go Hiashi attacked.

"**Mountain Crusher!" **Hiashi shouted as he blasted both the sound ninja as well as his own clansman.

The sound ninja hadn't been able to turn his blades into the shields to protect himself as the hyuga ninja had grabbed his blades and prevented them from being pulled out of his body. He had sacrificed himself for Hiashi. Thus he took the full punishment of the attack. Hiashi limped over to the downed sound ninja and saw that he was clinging to life.

Hiashi swiftly ended the sound ninja with a strike to the head and called for a medic. He turned and limped towards the rest of his men, never once looking back to help the clans man who had died for him.

**(Village Gates)**

Tsunade stood behind the gates with the rest of the leaf's forces. She was worried about the village yes, but she was also worried about the troops that were already fighting and dying for their home.

'Jiraiya don't you dare die out there.' She thought.

"Hokage-sama!"

She turned and looked at one of her ninja.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Our sentries tell us that a large force of the sound ninja is approaching the gates!" He said.

"What?! What about the troops under Jiraiya's command?" She asked.

"We see no sign of them. The enemy seems to be greatly reduced in number but they will be at the gates within seconds."

"Very well. This is what you have been prepared for! Kill them all!" Tsunade shouted as the gates of the village were smashed through by two giant snakes. Tsunade jumped up and smashed the snakes with her super powered fists, dispersing the summons.

"Attack!" She shouted as the ninja of the leaf village rushed forward.

"What happened Jiraiya?' She thought as she began to help her forces fight.

**(Hokage's Mountain)**

"Lord Orochimaru was right about that secret path." A cloaked figure said.

"Don't forget what our job is! We have to find and kill the ones that killed Sasuke-kun and the others!" A feminine voice said.

"The troops have caused a commotion. It's time to move." Another figure said as the cloaked group jumped into the village, seeking to use the battle as a cover to complete their mission.

**(Akatsuki)**

"Is it time Itachi?" Kisame asked eagerly.

"Yes Kisame it is time. Let's go and complete our mission." Itachi answered as they leapt into the village from their hiding stop.

**(Alleyway)**

"The enemy has breached the gates. It's time to finish off the traitor and the demon." One of the Hyuga said.

"Then let's go. I want to have a bit of fun before killing the traitor." Another said.

"Very well, though the demon's life is mine to take." The leader of the five Hyuga said as they ran towards the hospital.

**(End)**

**Here's chapter 51! How did the enemy get by Jiraiya's forces? Who are the ninja that Orochimaru hired to take out our injured heroes? Who is going to save Naruto from the Hyuga, sound ninja, and Akatsuki? That is a secret!**

**Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**

**Oh and one more thing:**

**Have you ever wondered "Who is the hottest, sexiest, most beautiful girl ever created in the world of anime?" Well now's your chance to vote for your own Top 10. Kingkakashi besides having a great story, has set-up a poll about this very question on his profile page. Help answer and settle this issue once and for all.**


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

**(Konoha)**

Tsunade ducked under the clawed hand of one of the curse sealed beasts. With a single chakra infused punch, she shattered the monster's head. She immediately jumped back as the headless body fell to the earth. She gave a quick look to see how the battle was progressing. The cursed sealed beasts under Orochimaru's command had hit hard and fast. The attacking force was roughly half of the unit that Jirayia's reconnaissance toads had numbered from Orochimaru's main unit. So far, the beasts hadn't penetrated very far into the village and the defenders were fighting gallantly. However, Tsunade could see that slowly but surely the Konoha ninja were giving ground.

'Where are you Jirayia? What happened to your force?' Tsunade wondered as she was ripped from her thoughts by the appearance of three other beasts. She glared at them and prepared to fight. She was surprised to see one beast roar in pain and stumble to the ground. On its back was Anko. She had two kunai buried handle deep into its head. The other two beasts roared in anger at the jonin and attempted to attack her. However, Tsunade immediately appeared and dropped her heel into the skull on the monster on the left. Its head exploded under the force and she turned to punch the remaining monster in the chest. This strike was not enough to kill the beast, though it was thrown back by the force. As it got to its feet to continue the battle, Anko wrapped it up with her hidden shadow snake jutsu and pulled it towards her. She leapt at the last minute and sank one of her kunai into the back of its neck. The beast dropped instantly and didn't move.

Tsunade looked closely at the two kunai that Anko held in her hands and could see a low purple tint on the blades.

'Poison. It must be very powerful to take out these monsters with one strike.' Tsunade thought as Anko came up to her.

"This is some fight Tsunade-sama." Anko said with a smirk.

"Only you would enjoy something like this. I'm glad that Naru-chan didn't get any of your bad habits when you trained him." Tsunade responded with a smirk.

"I'll have to tell you about the time he got mad at one of the sound genin during the chunin exams. You might change your mind after that little story." Anko said her smirk widening.

"I'll be happy to hear it once we save the village. Naru-chan is in no shape to participate in this battle so we had better make sure that they don't get any deeper into the village." Tsunade said as she turned her back on Anko and looked towards a few ninja who were having trouble with a group of beasts.

"They'll never get that far." Anko said mostly to herself as she turned and watched as Iruka took down a monster on his own.

'I guess the extra training we did has helped him out.' Anko thought as she started to go in his direction to back him up.

(**A few miles from Konoha's gates)**

Jiraiya was not having a good time. He ducked behind a tree just in time to avoid being hit by the scythe like appendage of the curse sealed beast in front of him. He jumped from behind the tree and incinerated the beast with a high powered flame jutsu. He took the moment to turn and look at the carnage on the battle field. His force had been taken by surprise. They came across the initial group of cursed sealed beasts and began their assault. Jiraiya had stayed back to observe as well as find Orochimaru. It was time that they finally settle the battle between them once and for all. However, things quickly turned south from there.

(**Flashback**)

He saw the cursed beasts fall back in retreat and a good portion of his forces went after them. Jiraiya instantly got a bad feeling and ordered his men to regroup around him. However, this order came far too late. The cursed sealed beasts turned and began to glow a bright purple before they exploded causing a massive blast of chakra to hit the attackers. When Jiraiya's vision cleared, he was dismayed to see that roughly one half of his forces had been caught in the explosion and were either dead or incapacitated. He had done a quick count and knew that his forces were only fighting about a fourth of Orochimaru's main unit. This change in events instantly put his group at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.

"You always were a baka Jiraiya."

Jiraiya turned and saw Orochimaru appear from the ground. He instantly snapped his fingers and a portion of his force appeared behind him.

"Numbers are now on my side Jirayia." Orochimaru said with a snake like smile.

"You need your eyes checked Orochi-teme. You need the rest of your force if you plan to have an advantage in numbers." Jiraiya responded.

"Very true. But what makes you think that I planned to do battle with my entire force." Orochimaru said.

Jiraiya was about to respond when he saw the rest of Orochimaru's force a few meters away. They were simply standing there and made no attempt to come to the aid of the snake sannin.

"Now!" Orochimaru shouted.

Four sound ninja appeared from the trees. They were not using the curse seal and Jiraiya was confused as to their purpose. He got his answer when they all sat to the ground and began hand seals.

'No!' Jiraiya thought as they created the **Four Violent Flames Battle Encampment**.

The large purple barrier went up, trapping Jiraiya and his force inside with Orochimaru. Jiraiya knew what his former teammate had in mind. He had trapped them both inside the barrier but now roughly half of his forces would be able to march unopposed to Konoha's gates. Orochimaru must have had great confidence in his abilities to defeat Jiraiya and his much larger force.

"My forces will now go and prepare Konoha's destruction. I doubt they'll be able to defeat all of the defenders in the village but they will definitely cause havoc until I get there." Orochimaru said as he ordered two previously unseen summoned serpent out of the ground. The two snakes lead the remaining group of beasts towards Konoha.

"You must have a lot of confidence in yourself to imagine that you can defeat us with such a smaller force backing you up Orochimaru." Jiraiya said with a deadly serious face. The remaining half of Jiraiya's force was trapped with him in the barrier while Orochimaru only had one fourth of his overall force with him.

"You were always inferior to me Jiraiya and we both know that even Anbu level ninja are of little threat to me." Orochimaru said as he opened his mouth and pulled out the Kusanagi from his throat.

"Prepare yourself!" Orochimaru said.

"You really think that those beasts will cause that much damage? Tsunade will turn them into paste." Jiraiya said as he fell into battle position and ordered his men to do the same.

"Whoever said that they had to only worry about threats outside of the village?" Orochimaru said as he brought one hand up and created a unique hand sign.

"It looks like it didn't work." Jiraiya said with a smile when nothing happened.

"Such a baka." Orochimaru said as his smile became even more sinister.

"Attack!" Orochimaru shouted as they rushed to attack one another.

(**Flashback** **End**)

After the initial clash, the two forces broke into smaller skirmishes. The barrier covered a wide range of area giving both sides more than enough room to maneuver and fight.

Jiraiya was broken out of his thoughts as another beast came up to attack him. He quickly formed a rasengan in his hand and slammed it into the beast's chest. The monster was thrown through a tree and didn't get up again. Jiraiya turned and saw Orochimaru slaughter five of the ninja attacking him. This was the first time Jiraiya had seen Orochimaru since the beginning of the battle. The snake sannin had been doing hit and runs throughout the battle and seemed to be avoiding Jiraiya as he focused on lowering the number of enemies. Most of the ninja that followed Jiraiya would not be able to fight Orochimaru evenly during a fair fight. For him to suddenly appear when they least expected it meant that none survived the legendary ninja.

Jiraiya was enraged at the cowardly tactics and rushed forward to stop Orochimaru from killing an unsuspecting Anbu. He tackled his former teammate the instant he was about to run the Anbu through with his sword.

"No more hiding you snake! It's time to end this!" Jiraiya said grimly.

"And so it is. This is the day that you finally fall before me Jiraiya." Orochimaru said as the two former teammates attacked one another.

(**Konoha**)

Tsunade was preparing to sneak up on the beasts attacking a group of her shinobi when her danger sense that any veteran ninja developed over the years of combat began to go off. She turned just enough to avoid taking a kunai through the heart. However, the blade still stuck deeply into her shoulder and she turned fully to look into the eyes of her assailant. She was shocked to be faced with Anko. The special jonin had taken one of her highly poisoned kunai and attempted to kill her.

"What are you doing Anko?!" Tsunade shouted in anger and pain. She could immediately tell that something was wrong. Anko's eyes were hazy and unfocused and she was breathing erratically.

Anko grabbed her head and began to shriek in agony. The curse seal on her neck activated and long, snake like marks began to wind around her skin. Her eyes became a dark purple with a vertical slit for the pupil. Long fangs appeared in her mouth and her nails grew into claws. The most alarming change, however, was the massive amount of chakra that she was exuding. Tsunade was well aware of how powerful a person could become through the use of a curse seal but Anko's chakra had more than tripled! It didn't make sense and the blonde Hokage was stunned at the transformation.

Anko stopped screaming and looked at Tsunade. Tsunade knew that Anko was no longer in control of her body from the blood thirsty and manic look in her eyes. Orochimaru was now controlling her. Anko jumped at her commander, seeking to stab her long and more than likely poisoned claws into Tsunade. Tsunade jumped back in alarm and avoided the blow. She fell to her knees with a cry of pain. She had forgotten about the kunai still lodged in her shoulder and knew that the poison that Anko had coated it with was very potent. It would take a considerable amount of time to extract it and Anko didn't seem inclined to allow her the time she needed.

"Anko-san stop!" Shouted a leaf jonin who ran up to try and apprehend his colleague.

"Get back!" Tsunade shouted. However, her warning came far too late as Anko struck the unsuspecting jonin in the chest with her claws. He gave a gurgle of pain before slumping to the ground. He was dead before he ever landed. Anko gave a serpent like grin before turning to Tsunade once again.

Tsunade began to form hand seals and the diamond shaped seal on her forehead began to glow. Vine like marking moved over her head and body as Tsunade activated her **Creation Rebirth jutsu**. The seal on her forehead dispersed the concentrated healing chakra throughout her body. She normally would only resort to this technique as a last line of defense. While the seal was activated, she was essentially invulnerable. Any damage, no matter how severe would quickly heal leaving her in top fighting condition. However, like everything in life there was a catch. This jutsu didn't heal existing cells at all. Instead it hastened the creation of new cells to replace the damaged ones. The problem was that human cells can only split a certain number of times in a lifetime. This jutsu would shorten her life span every time she used it.

However, she was far from caring about this limitation as she prepared to bring down Anko. This would not be easy at all as she would be fighting to incapacitate the jonin while Anko was simply seeking to kill her and any other leaf ninja she could.

'Naru-chan would never forgive me if I were to kill you Anko. I will save you from this, I swear it.' Tsunade thought as she prepared herself to fight the possessed jonin.

**(Hospital)**

The five main house Hyuga members ran full speed through the halls. The attack on the village had caused havoc in the hospital and no one questioned their destination or their intentions. Anyone who thought to ask simply assumed they were there for extra security.

"The demon brat and the traitor are on a floor by themselves. It seems the Hokage wanted them isolated and kept away from anyone seeking to do them harm." The leader said with a smirk. The rest of his men laughed at the ironic statement as well. With no one else on the floor, no one would be able to come to Naruto's and Hinata's assistance in time. They would be able to go in, take care of their business and leave. However, they were broken out of their amusement when they heard an explosion behind them. They stopped and activated their byakugan. They saw four mysterious ninja enter that hospital and could tell that they were not allies.

"How should we proceed?" One of the men asked.

"I want three of you to go and handle them. It won't take all of us to take down the demon and reject and by fighting these ninja we only make our clan look stronger." The leader said as he took one subordinate to take care of their original mission plan.

The other three turned and rushed back in an attempt to defeat the enemy and at the same time garner favor and admiration for their clan.

"Halt!" Shouted one of the Hyuga members as the cloaked enemies turned to look at them.

"We don't have time to play with them! We've got a mission to take care of." Said one of the cloaked ninjas. By the tone of the voice it was obvious this was a female.

"Relax Karin. It's not like they'll make a difference." Replied the man beside her. He removed his cloaked and revealed his face. He had short white hair that had a light blue tint to it and deep purple eyes. His teeth were sharp and shark like, just like Kisame's.

The woman removed her cloak and glared at her teammate. "What's wrong with you Suigetsu?! We don't have time for your games!" Karin shouted. Karin's hair was red but was short and spiky on the left side while being long and straight on her right. She also had red eyes and wore glasses.

"Both of you need to calm down. Your fighting isn't helping." Said the third male. He removed his cloak and revealed himself. He had spiky orange hair and orange eyes. He seemed very unassuming and unlike the other two, there was no killing intent evident around him.

"Shut up Jugo! I'm tired of listening to this red haired pain in the butt! So what if Sasuke got himself killed, that's not my problem. I'm doing this for one reason and it's got nothing to do with Orochimaru's plans." Suigetsu shouted to the newly revealed Jugo.

"If you three don't get serious, I think I'll have to prepare a funeral for all of you." Said the last member of the sound team. His voice was deeper than the rest and it was obvious that he was the oldest of all of them. He revealed himself and the Hyuga members took a step back. Unlike the others, they knew who this man was. He had unkempt dark green hair and two spiked swords on his back. Like Suigetsu, his teeth were sharp and shark like. This was one of the former seven swordsmen of the mist, Raiga Kurosuki. Known as "Thunder of the Hidden Mist" he was very powerful and for him to be working with Orochimaru did not bode well for the Hyuga.

"They are of little consequence to us. I doubt they will be a problem." Raiga went on to say as be pulled the two spiked swords from his back.

"I will take those swords from you one day Raiga." Suigetsu muttered to himself.

"We should take them out now and continue on with our mission." Karin said in annoyance. The three Hyuga fell back into the jyuken stance and prepared themselves.

"Well this is certainly a party. Looks like we ran into a bit of a conflict Itachi."

Both parties turned to see the two figures that wore the black cloaks dotted with red clouds.

"Akatsuki! What are you doing here?" Karin asked with a quiver of fear in her tone.

"Our goals are none of your concern." Itachi said as he removed his straw hat. Kisame did the same and gave a shark like grin when seeing Suigetsu and Raiga.

"Well if it isn't Suigetsu and Raiga. I never thought I would see you two. Last I heard Raiga you had taken over some small village and was burying people alive like a maniac. Suigetsu, I haven't heard much from you since your brother died. He never got accepted to be one of the seven swordsmen did he?" Kisame taunted the two of them.

"Shut your mouth Kisame Hoshigaki!" Suigestu shouted in rage. He and his older brother had trained long and hard to one day be accepted as two of the seven swordsmen of the hidden mist. However, his brother had been killed in a mission and their dream was shattered. Listening to Kisame talk about his brother enraged the sound ninja.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you can't take a little criticism. To think you joined up with Orochimaru to get stronger. Have you no pride as a mist ninja boy?" Kisame continued to taunt.

"Calm down Suigetsu. He wants you to get riled up. Soon he will be dead at my feet and we'll prepare a proper burial for him." Raiga said with a demented smirk on his face.

"You really think you've got what it takes to defeat me? You're insane Raiga." Kisame said with a sinker.

"Enough Kisame. Now isn't the time for you to reminisce with old friends. We have a mission to complete." Itachi said in a dead tone.

"If your mission is to take care of the injured ninja in this hospital then it seems we have the same goal in mind. Why not join up?" Karin asked nervously. She knew of Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. She didn't want to fight men like them.

"Speak for yourself Karin! I've got no intention of teaming up with the likes of them!" Suigetsu said with a snarl.

"The feeling is mutual." Raiga added as lightening began to flow around his blades.

"Hey Itachi, taking on the kyuubi-brat while he's injured doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Do you mind if I cut loose with these guys a bit?" Kisame asked his partner.

"I really don't care Kisame. As long as they don't get in the way of our mission you may do what you want. I will handle Naruto." Itachi said as he calmly turned around and began to walk towards the stairs.

"This is going to be a lot of fun!" Kisame said as he pulled Samehada off of his back and removed the top portion of the wrappings.

"Raiga, Suigetsu, we don't have time for this! We've got a mission to complete." Karin shouted in anger.

"Let it go Karin. We will be enough to handle the injured ninja that killed our comrades. With Itachi Uchiha going after the kyuubi container, he's as good as dead. As much as I hate killing, we must obey Lord Orochimaru's orders and kill all who took out the sound five. Besides, the fewer people around me, the less that has to die." Jugo said as he moved towards the stairs. Karin took a moment to contemplate this before she followed behind Jugo. She wasn't going to come between two swordsmen of the mist as well as a potential member.

"Now that they are out of the way, why don't we get to it?!" Kisame said with a smirk.

"Gladly." Raiga said with a smirk of his own.

Suigetsu stared between them and waited for the right opportunity to strike. Without a legendary blade of his own, he was at a severe disadvantage. It didn't matter that he and Raiga were on the same side. Just as he would backstab Raiga whenever he got a chance, so Raiga would do the same.

The three hyuga had made the decision to go after Jugo and Karin. They didn't want to come between the colossal battle that was sure to take place momentarily. They didn't think they would have a problem dealing with the girl and the only male present that seemed to be far too peace loving to cause them problems.

**(Konoha)**

Tsunade jumped to the side to avoid the thrown kunai from Anko. Tsunade was actually finding it difficult to slow the crazed jonin down. She couldn't figure out where Anko's power was coming from. She seemed to only get stronger as time went on.

What Tsunade didn't know was that Anko's curse seal was much different than all of the other Orochimaru had given to his subordinates. When Orochimaru was training Anko, he acted like the kind and concerned sensei while in fact he was using her to help him in his twisted experiments. When he had completed the curse seal, he had given it to Anko along with nine other subjects. He didn't care at all about the danger to his young apprentice and the possibility that she could die. Miraculously, Anko was the only one to survive having the mark placed on her. After this, Orochimaru asked if she wanted to come with him as he left the village. He felt that he had invested enough time into her training that simply throwing her away would be a waste of the effort he put into her. However, she had declined as she finally recognized him for the evil, vile man that he was. Anko remembered all of this after years of a fragmented memory.

However, what Anko didn't know is what happened next. The next thing she remembered after refusing to go with her former sensei was walking back to Konoha in pain and in a daze. She couldn't remember how she got there. Orochimaru, after hearing her refusal to go with him, decided that she would be able to serve another purpose for him. He swiftly knocked her unconscious and got to work. He gave a few minor adjustments to the curse seal and then placed her on the path to Konoha. Orochimaru had turned her into the ultimate sleeper cell warrior. The curse seal had been giving Anko pain and trouble for years. She along with the Third Hokage thought that it was the seal malfunctioning. Truthfully the seal was doing exactly what Orochimaru wanted it to do.

The seal on Anko was different from all the rest as it didn't give chakra, it took it away. Over the years, every time Anko felt it activate, it was really sucking chakra from her body and storing it away, this was the cause of the pain. When Orochimaru or another ninja performed the specific hand sign that brought her to her knees, it was simply the seal taking more chakra at once then she was used to. All of the stored chakra over the years had been converted to the tainted evil chakra of the curse seal and was simply awaiting the specific series of signs from Orochimaru to activate and take over Anko's mind. That time had come and Anko was now roughly three times as strong as all of the concentrated chakra released at once into her system.

Tsunade knew none of this but even had she known, it wouldn't change her situation at all. She still had to figure out a way to incapacitate Anko before she killed more of her own people her manic state.

'How do I go about it? How can I stop her when she is so dangerous?' She thought as she continued to watch Anko pull out two more poisoned kunai.

Tsunade's **Creation Rebirth **wouldn't last much longer and when it was gone, she would be in a world of trouble.

Anko was on Tsunade immediately and was slashing widely. Tsunade ducked under one of the kuani only to receive a minor cut to her right arm from the second. She kicked Anko's legs from under her and attempted to hit her with a low powered punch. Anko rolled to the side and avoided the punch. She struck quickly and Tsunade received twin slashes to her stomach. She struck quickly and hit Anko with a kick to the sternum. Tsunade jumped back and waited as the poison was burned form her system. She couldn't keep holding back if she was truly determined to win. She would have to go after Anko full force.

"I'm sorry Anko, but I can't hold back any longer." Tsunade shouted as she went on the attack.

No matter how powerful Anko had become, Tsunade was still the Hokage and one of the legendary sannin for a reason. Anko attempted to slash Tsunade across the chest. Tsunade actually allowed the hit to connect. As long as she had her seal activated, she couldn't be killed by the poison. She grabbed Anko's arm and broke it. Anko roared in anger and kicked Tsunade in the side. Tsunade grunted at the blow but was far from finished. She brought her arm down and trapped Anko's leg to her side. She gave a twist and snapped Anko's femur. She then threw Anko into an adjacent building. She looked on as Anko suddenly appeared once again. Her leg and arm slowly mended themselves right before her eyes.

Anko shout her arm out and unleashed the hidden shadow snake jutsu. Tsunade was taken by surprise and wrapped up. Anko pulled the blonde leader towards her and attempted to stab her kunai into Tsunade's head. Tsunade used a burst of strength and broke free of the snakes. Her momentum hadn't changed and she used that to her advantage to punch Anko in the face. Anko's head snapped to the side and she fell backwards. Tsunade could have removed Anko's head with that blow but she was still very careful not to permanently damage the poor ninja. Tsunade knew that Anko would curse herself for the few ninja that she had killed under Orochiamru's control, despite the fact that it wasn't her fault.

Tsunade watched as a large snake came barreling towards her. She wasn't aware that Anko could summon large serpents as she seemed to detest anything that had to do with her former teacher. Tsunade jumped before the snake could swallow her and she quickly created the hand signs for her own summon.

"**Summoning jutsu!**" Tsuande shouted as she summoned a very large slug. Tsunade's personal summons were the slugs. The leader of the slug contract, Katsuyu, was very powerful, but Tsunade didn't need her assistance yet. The slug she summoned immediately tackled the snake and spit acid onto it. The snake immediately returned to the summoning realm. Tsunade wasn't done as she ordered the slug to spit out a highly concentrated mist of poison. The mist would paralyze anyone that inhaled it and Tsunade had made sure that there were none of her ninja around when the attack flew towards Anko. Tsunade ordered the slug to stop and had it return to the summoning realm.

Tsunade walked towards the clearing cloud of poison looking for Anko. She was taken completely by surprise when a large fire ball came roaring at her. She jumped to the side and barely avoided being hit. She turned and saw Anko leering at her. It seemed that the tainted chakra in her system made poisons and paralyzing agents useless. Tsunade got back to her feet and prepared to fight once again when she felt a wave of exhaustion come over her. She could tell that her creation rebirth seal was at its limit and that she would have to hurry. Thankfully, she could see that Anko was becoming exhausted as well. Her body wasn't used to the tainted chakra running through it and the high concentration was causing her body a number of adverse affects. It made sense to the blonde leader. Orochimaru cared nothing for his men as he saw them all as tools. He would have Anko create as much destruction as possible before allowing her to die from overusing the seal. He cared nothing about losing her as long as she caused a massive amount of damage. Had anyone other than Tsunade fought her, she may very well have caused much more havoc than she already had.

Despite her fatigue, the seal forced Anko to continue to fight. Anko rushed through hand signs as two serpents slithered from her sleeves. Tsunade recognized them as black mambas, one of the deadliest snakes on the planet. With her own seal running out of power, Tsunade couldn't afford to be struck by them. Anko leapt at her with a roar of anger. Tsunade quickly slammed her fist into the ground, cracking the earth. Anko's stride faltered and Tsunade took this opportunity to get thought her guard. She ducked under one of snapping serpents but couldn't avoid the second that bit into her shoulder. Ignoring the poison in her system, she slammed her glowing fist into Anko's chest. Anko fell to her knees as Tsunade's punch all but shattered her rib cage. Tsunade watched as the mambas retracted into Anko's sleeves. Tsunade reached down to pick up the seemingly disabled jonin when disaster struck. Tsuande watched as her hands began to wrinkle, the sign that her seal had reached its limit. She felt her energy leave her as Anko made a desperate lung with the two kunai she still clutched in her hands. The poison still circulating through her system from the mamba had taken all of her energy before the seal had deactivated. She couldn't avoid the strike.

Tsunade was shocked when she was sent flying back. She didn't have the speed to avoid Anko's desperate attack and was prepared for the stabbing pain from the kunai. In her current condition, she would be hard pressed to remove the toxin while healing the damage at the same time. She would have to rest for a while before she was back to full strength and could renew her youthful genjutsu. She looked up and was surprised to see Iruka standing where Tsunade had just been previously. The chunin had seen the commotion and was deathly afraid for his love. He couldn't allow her to harm Tsunade and pushed her out of the way, however, he had paid the price as one of the kuani had been stabbed deeply into his back.

"I-Iruka-kun?" Anko whispered out in shock as the seal retracted. She too had reached her limit and she passed out immediately.

"It's good to have you back, Anko-chan." Iruka wheezed out before falling to the ground.

Tsunade limped over to the downed lovers and attempted to save Iruka's life. She had to force her remaining chakra into her hands and slowly began to pull the poison out of his body. It was very difficult in her current condition but she refused to allow anyone else to die from Orochiamru's despicable tactics. When she was sure that Iruka wasn't still in danger she fell to her knees in exhaustion. Had she simply been trying to kill Anko she could have finished the fight sooner. No matter how much more powerful Anko had become, Tsunade was not a sannin for no reason.

Tsunade was broken out of her thoughts when she saw five cursed sealed beasts burst through the building beside her. They roared at the downed ninja and rushed forward to capitalize on her weakness. Tsunade shakily stood to her feet and prepared to do combat again before a wall of sand appeared in front of the beasts. She was confused until the sand wrapped around two of them and she heard and dull voice call out an attack.

"**Sand Burial.**"

The two confined beasts suddenly burst into showers of blood and gore as the sand surrounding them imploded. Tsunade looked up into the sky and saw Gaara of the desert floating on a cloud of sand.

"My apologies Hokage-sama for taking so long." Gaara said as he landed in front of Tsunade. Gaara was now dressed in reddish brown overalls that had an upright collar; also one sleeve was longer than the other. He still had his large sand gourd on his back. He turned as he heard one of the beasts cry out in pain. It fell to the ground, riddled with needles. Kankuro stood behind the down beasts with his now two puppets in front of him. Kankuro was still dressed in the single black cat suit except the war paint on his face now more intricate. The sand siblings had made their way to Konoha as fast as they could when they were given word that their sister had been captured. By the time they arrived, they saw the fight taking place. Gaara had decided to find Tsunade first and foremost to try and figure out where he would be best served. He could have simply begun attacking the beasts but didn't want any confusion from the leaf's forces as to his intentions.

"Thanks you for coming and for the assistance Gaara-san." Tsunade said as she looked up as the last two beasts rushed towards Gaara.

"It's the least I could do after what Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara have done for my family." Gaara said as his sand shield leapt up to block the blows of the two beasts. Gaara form his sand into a ball and large spikes immediately skewered the beasts.

"Rest now Tsunade-sama. We will handle the rest." Gaara said as he walked away with his brother in tow. Tsunade fell to her knees once again when two medic ninjas suddenly appeared. They began treatment on her immediately to get her back to full strength. She told them to treat Anko as well as she had not enough chakra to fix her shattered ribs and the internal injuries that came with them.

Gaara, meanwhile, was walking through the village and attacking every monstrosity that he came across. His sand abilities made him perfect for exterminating the cumbersome and stupid beasts as they would foolishly rush towards him with no thought as to his attacks. Still, crushing them was a bit of a hassle as they skin and bones were very tough. Gaara stopped when he came face to face with a few leaf ninja who were retreating form a much larger force of beasts. It looked like roughly half of the remaining beasts had banned together to attack the defenders. Gaara stood straight as the leaf ninja rushed past him. Gaara knelt to the ground and laid his hand on it. He closed his eyes for a moment as the beasts came closer and closer. Gaara knew this was going to take up q large part of his remaining chakra but he knew it was worth it.

"**Sand Tsunami!**" He shouted as a huge wave of sand rose from the ground and towered above the large group of beasts. They could do nothing but stand there as the tidal wave of sand crashed down onto them. Many attempted to climb out of the sand, perhaps knowing that their deaths were close at hand. However, Gaara was having none of it.

"**Sand Waterfall Imperial Burial!**" Gaara shouted as he slammed his hands into the sand. The sand instantly compressed, crushing all the beasts that were captured. He had just cut the attacking force in half by himself. However, these two techniques took a lot out of Gaara. The reason being that the trip between the two villages was three days at the shortest however Gaara and Kankuro had pushed themselves to the limit and made the trip in a day and a half. This wreaked havoc on Gaara's chakra capacity as they made most of the rip on his desert suspicion technique. This technique allowed him to float in the air and when enough chakra was applied, he could even use it to move at high speeds for a short period of time.

"Arigato Gaara-san." One of the leaf ninja said to the container of the Shukaku.

"It's not a problem. It's what friends do for one another. At least that's what I've learned from Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara said softly as he leaned against a building, trying to catch his breath.

They all took a short break before continuing on. Gaara had delivered a crippling blow to the invasion force and they now needed to clean up the rest of them. The leaf would not fall this day!

**(Hospital)**

The three Hyuga quickly caught up with Karin and Jugo.

"Halt! You'll go no further!" One of them shouted as he rushed up quickly and struck Jugo in the back. He sent a burst of chakra through Jugo's heart and swiftly turned to do the same to Karin. He was surprised when his hand was caught by a dark limb. He turned and was surprised that Jugo hadn't moved at all. He looked at the orange haired ninja and felt a chill run down his spine at the look in his eyes. Jugo was a quiet man who hated violence, however Jugo had two secrets. The first was that he was the originator of the curse seal. A special enzyme was present in his body and Orochimaru had extracted this enzyme to create the curse seal. Jugo second secret was that he had a split personality. While he was peaceful and hated violence, his other personality was truly blood thirsty and would attack friend or foe in a haze of rage and bloodlust. His eyes began to change and marks began to spread across Jugo's body.

"Now that wasn't very nice!" Jugo said in a demented tone as he crushed the Hyuga's arm. He swiftly brought his other arm around and the remaining Hyuga were shocked when the limb changed in mid air. It turned dark and monstrous. There was a strange cylindrical appendage on the back of the arm that pulled back. When Jugo punched the Hyuga, the cylindrical piston slammed inwards again.

"**Piston Punch!**" Jugo shouted as the force behind the blow increased exponentially. The Hyuga's head exploded in a shower of gore as the twitching body fell to the earth. Karin jumped back and tried to stay out of sight. When Jugo got like this he would kill anyone. The remaining two Hyuga shouted out cries of rage and horror at what had happened to their brother. They didn't know whether to attack or flee. However, they wouldn't get away from Jugo's wrath so easily. Jugo appeared right in front of them and grabbed one of the Hyuga by his head. He slammed the man into the ground as he raised his hand above his head. The piston reabsorbed into his boy as a large axe like appendage grew from his arm.

"**Destroying axe fist!**" he said as he bisected the prone Hyuga. The remaining Hyuga activated his byakugan and rushed forward.

"**Eight trigrams: 64 strikes!**" He shouted as he struck Jugo repeatedly in the chest and forehead. He gather edall of his remaining chakra and slammed his palm into Jugo's chest, sending the sound ninja shooting down the hallway.

"Nice attempt, but is that all you've got? You're so boring!" Jugo shouted as he rushed towards the Anbu.

"**Kaiten!**" The Hyuga shouted as he began to spin. The chakra dome extended from his body as Jugo crashed into it.

"That's no fun! **Boosting Jet Pistons!**" Jugo raised his arm and multiple booster like holes grew on the appendage. Chakra burst from the holes and he slammed his fist into the dome of chakra. For a moment nothing happened until Jugo's fist burst through the dome and slammed into and through the Hyuga's chest. Jugo pulled his arm out of the body and watched as the now dead Hyuga fell to the ground.

"That was fun! I just killed three guys so I think I'll kill some women now!" Jugo shouted in joy as the curse marks began to change his face. He turned and saw Karin cowering in the corner.

"I-if you want to kill some girls, I heard that the ninja we were sent to kill all had girlfriends. Y-you c-could kill them all." Karin said, terrified of Jugo.

"That's a great idea! I think I'll kill the men first. Women are so fragile. They wouldn't give me a good fight." Jugo said as his remaining arm began to change as well.

"Is that so?!"

Jugo turned and was delighted. Standing at the end of the hall were four females. Tenten, Temari, Ino, and Sakrua had all heard the commotion and had come out to see what was going on. They were not about to let anyone harm their boyfriends. They had been captured and helpless once, but now it was their turn to protect the ones they loved.

"I'll show you that women aren't weak!" Tenten said as she pulled out her scrolls.

"If you think we're going to all you to harm our friends and loved one you've got another thing coming!" Ino shouted.

"I was so upset that Shika-kun got to have all the fun killing that sound girl. I think it's time I got to have some fun as well." Temari saw as she opened her fan.

"We will stop you no matter what it takes!" Sakura shouted as well.

"You really think so?! You've just saved me the trouble of hunting you all down. Now Die!!" Jugo shouted as he rushed towards the girls. They all fell in together and prepared to face this seemingly unstoppable foe.

**(End)**

**Here's chapter 52. Sorry for the long wait but I had to get my thoughts together. Next chapter will focus on Jirayia and Orochiamru as well as the girls trying to stop the rampaging juggernaut that is Jugo. How will this all end? How will the girls beat Jugo? What's going to happen to Naruto and Hinata? That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out! **


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

"This will be the final battle between us Orochimaru." Jiraiya said as he glared at his former best friend.

"Konoha will burn on this day Jiraiya and you will fall here." Orochimaru responded as he leapt at the toad sage and slashed at his head. Jiraiya ducked and jumped back to create space between them.

"**Fire ball jutsu!**" Jiraiya yelled out as he launched a large storm of flames at Orochimaru. The snake sannin was too slow and howled in pain as he was burnt to cinders.

Jirayia looked at the ashes and grunted in annoyance. Orochimaru always was a bit dramatic. He knew that that attack was nowhere near strong enough to even slightly injure Orochimaru. Jiraiya slowly turned his head, looking for the traitor. He didn't have to wait long.

Orochimaru rose up out of the ground from behind Jiraiya and extended his arm. His arm wrapped around Jiraiya like a serpent and the toad sannin was thrown through a tree. As Orochimaru attempted to pull his arm back, Jiraiya grabbed the appendage and pulled Orochimaru towards him. Orochimaru met Jiraiya's fist head on and the snake sannin's mouth popped out of place. He flew back and quickly righted himself in the air. He grabbed his jaw and snapped it back into place while taking a moment to contemplate Jiraiya's strength. While the blow was nothing compared to Tsunade's it was still quite powerful.

"Don't look so surprised. I'm not holding anything back." Jiraiya said as he cracked his knuckles.

"So you are finally going to take something in your life seriously are you? It's about time, though it won't save you from your demise." Orochimaru returned as his smirk returned to his face. Like a snake he got on his belly and stretched towards Jiraiya. He avoided Jirayia's kick and landed a devastating punch to his face. Jiraiya's head snapped to the side and he flew back.

"You're not the only one who's been holding back." Orochimaru said as he licked his lips.

"Not bad at all. And here I thought you were too afraid to get your hands dirty. However, Tsu-hime hits a lot harder than you. You'll have to step it up if you plan to beat me. " Jiraiya said as he reappeared. He spat out some blood but otherwise was unharmed.

"I believe the warm ups are over. Let's get serious!" Jiraiya said as his gaze became rock hard.

"Very well." Orochimaru said.

Orochimaru renewed the battle by yelling at the four sound ninja that were holding up the barrier.

"Release it now!" Orochimaru ordered. The four were confused but promptly let the barrier fall. The cursed monsters immediately ran towards the village's gates.

"Return to the village and end the threat there." Jiraiya said to the anbu he had saved earlier.

"Jiraiya-sama?" The anbu said in confusion.

"This is my battle. I want you all to go now and protect the village. Without Orochimaru there you should be able to take care of those monstrosities. Go now!" Jiraiya ordered in a tone that left no room for an argument.

"Hai!" The Anbu responded as he gathered the remaining leaf forces and set after Orochiamru's beasts.

"It's just you and me now Orochimaru." Jiraiya said as he cracked his knuckles.

"So it seems my old friend." Orochimaru said as he lifted his arm revealing a snake tattoo. Orochiamru bit his thumb and wiped the blood onto his arm, directly over the tattoo. Seeing this, Jiraiya bit his thumb as well and wiped it onto his palm.

"**Summoning jutsu!**" They both shouted simultaneously.

They began to rise up as their summons appeared. Orochiamru was standing on top of the head of a large snake that was purple and black striped. This was the snake summoning boss, Manda. Jiraiya was standing on top of the head of a large toad. The toad had a pipe in its mouth, was orange in color, and had a very large tanto hanging by its side and a blue cloak around its body. This was the toad boss Gamabunta.

"Jiraiya? What are you doing summoning me you old lecher?" Gamabunta asked in a booming tone as he looked up at the toad sage.

"Now is not the time 'bunta. I've got a score to settle." Jiraiya said as his gaze never left Orochimaru's. He and Gamabunta had a rocky relationship. Gamabunta always liked Minato better and thought that Jiraiya should stop being such a pervert and take his life more seriously. Despite this, Gamabunta and the toad clan were proud to have such a powerful ninja as their summoner.

"Orochiamru?! What have I told you about summoning me without the human sacrifices? I told you that I demand one hundred humans every time you summon me." Manda all but snarled.

If Gamabunta and Jiraiya had a rocky relationship then Manda and Orochiamru's could only be classified as a relationship where one was more likely to kill the other at some point in time. Manda was very prideful and hated that he had someone that could summon him whenever they chose. Thus he demanded human sacrifices. If a summoner refused then Manda would kill and eat them. However, Orochiamru was very powerful and Manda refused to accept anyone weak. This being the case, Manda tolerated Orochimaru as long as he got his sacrifices at some point and as long as Orochimaru remained powerful. If Orochimaru were ever in a near death situation, he would never summon Manda as Manda would simply eat him for being weak.

"Manda, I summoned you for a little reunion and don't worry about your sacrifices. There is a village a little ways from here that is crawling with people to satisfy your hunger. You just have to deal with these two before us." Orochimaru said to his summon.

"Gamabunta. It's been a while you dirty toad! I'm going to enjoy killing you this time!" Manda roared.

"By all means try it. I've wanted a snake skinned wallet for a long time!" Gamabunta said as he grabbed the large blade at his side and drew it from its sheath.

"You ready for this bunta?" Jiraiya asked.

"You know it. It's about time you stopped messing around and dealt with this traitor." Gamabunta said.

"Let's begin!" Orochimaru said as Manda began to move towards Gamabunta. He slithered at high speeds and was instantly in front of the giant toad. He opened his mouth to reveal his massive fangs and he attempted to drive them into Gamabunta's body. Gamabunta jumped into the air and brought his hands to his mouth.

"**Water Bullet!**" Gamabunta shouted out as he opened his mouth and spat out two large balls of water.

Manda avoided the blasts and coiled his body in a tight spiral before he kicked off of the ground with his tail. Like a spring he flew into the air and approached Gamabunta. The toad boss quickly pulled out his blade and slashed out at the fast approaching snake. Manda opened his body and clamped his jaws onto the blade, keeping it from piercing his body. His momentum was enough to push them both further into the forest surrounding Konoha. Manda ripped the blade from Gamabunta and threw it away with a swing of his head. He followed up by swinging his tail and hitting Gamabunta in the side. Gamabunta jumped back as Jiraiya gave him orders.

"Oil bunta!" He cried out as he began to form hand signs.

"You got it!" Gamabunta said as he puffed his chest out and spat out a large stream of oil.

"**Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!**" Jiraiya cried out as he shot out a large flame from his mouth. This flame ignited the oil and a massive fireball flew towards Orochimaru and Manda. It hit and a large explosion of fire erupted from the blast zone. Jiraiya stopped his flames as he saw something in the flames. It was skin burning.

"He shed his skin!" Jiraiya shouted to his old friend.

Gamabunta didn't respond as he turned swiftly and shout out a water bullet behind him. Manda appeared from the ground and was instantly hit by the ball of water. The snake was thrown back by the force of the blow and cried out in pain.

"I'll make you pay for that!" Manda snarled.

"It's not my fault that you're so predictable. I knew that you wouldn't just stand there and take that blast. It's obvious that you tunneled under the ground after shedding your skin and would try to attack me in my blind spot." Gamabunta said with a chuckle as he took a long draw from his pipe and exhaled the smoke into Manda's face. The snake was very upset at the blatant insult and rushed towards the duo again. Jiraiya immediately saw something was wrong.

"Where's Orochimaru?!' He thought as he noticed that his old teammate was not on Manda's head any longer. His question was answered when he felt snakes wrap around his body from behind and he was pulled off of Gamabunta. Orochiamru slammed Jiraiya into the ground at high speeds and smirked at the crater that was formed.

"Go on without me Gamabunta!" Jirayia shouted as he got to his feet.

"Will do! Don't worry, I'll be sure to deal with this snake." Gamabunta shouted back as he avoided Manda's charge and hopped over to his retrieve his blade.

"Let's let the animals fight amongst themselves." Orochimaru said simply as he started to create hand signs.

"**Ninja art: Medusa Mimicry Jutsu!**" He said. His long black hair began to move and squirm as if it was live. Soon it flowed around his head as the mass of long hair transformed into black snakes. It was truly deserving of its name as Orochimaru's head looked like the mythical beast Medusa. One of the heads extended and attempted to bite Jiraiya.

The toad sannin jumped out of the way and whipped out a kunai to try and cut the serpent. However, he had to disengage his attack when more of the serpents came towards him. He saw that each strand of hair had in fact become a serpent which gave Orochimaru an untold amount of serpents to use. Jirayia was too slow for a moment and one of the snakes barely bit his leg. Jiraiya jumped back but was shocked when his leg buckled under him.

"I should have warned you that this attack doesn't just make me look like Medusa. While staring at me won't turn you into stone, one bite will be enough to cause complete paralysis." Orochimaru said with a smirk as he sent the entire mass of serpents towards his injured foe.

"**Needle Jizo!**" Jiraiya shouted out as his long white hair wrapped around him. The hair then stiffened and spiked out. When the serpents came to bite him, they were skewered by the sharp and durable strands of hair and Orochimaru was forced to cancel the technique as he had no way through Jiraiya's defense.

'No matter. His leg was hit and he won't be able to use it for a while.' Orochimaru thought as he prepared another jutsu. He was going to wait until Jiraiya ended his defensive technique. He didn't have to wait long before the shield of hair disappeared.

'Now!' Orochimaru thought as he prepared to attack.

"**Swamp of the Underworld!**" Jiraiya immediately cried out as he slammed his hands into the ground. Suddenly, the solid earth Orochimaru was standing on turned into a murky bog that began to forcibly pull him under its dark depths. Orochimaru was so shocked by the sudden move that he failed to complete his jutsu. He took his eyes off of Jiraiya and this was a mistake that Jiraiya capitalized on.

"**Double rasengan!**" he shouted as he used his remaining leg to push himself towards Orochimaru with a swirling rasengan in each hand. He plunged both of the spheres of chakra into Orochimaru's body. The bog ensured that the snake sannin couldn't move and he cried out in pain as the two orbs began to drill into his body. Orochimaru opened his mouth and shot out the Kusanagi blade. Jiraiya moved but was still struck in the shoulder. He immediately grabbed the blade and threw it away from him. Orochimaru took that moment to flair his chakra and blew the bog's murky, sticky fluid away from his feet long enough to jump away. He leapt to solid earth and turned around as he held his chest in pain. The double rasengan had been very painful and he was lucky to escape. Jiraiya wasn't much better off as he found his left arm to be very hard to move after having it skewered. Still he smiled in joy at being able to hit the snake.

"Brings back memories doesn't it Orochimaru." Jiraiya said with a smirk.

"Memories? You mean from when we were on a team and actually believed Sarutobi-sensei's foolish words? That was a lifetime ago baka. You may have hit me but you are in far worse shape than I am." Orochimaru said with a snort.

"This battle is far from over and this time there will be a different outcome from before." Jiraiya said as he thought about one of one of the biggest failing of his ninja career.

He and Orochimaru were teammates with Tsunade under the Third Hokage. Back then Orochimaru was the best of the shinobi to graduate the academy while Jiraiya was the dead last. While they were teammates, Jiraiya was constantly jealous of Orochimaru's skill as well as Sarutobi's constant complements of the young ninja and his constant criticism of Jiraiya. Sarutobi had told Jiraiya many times that he should be more like Orochimaru. However, as the years passed and they all grew older and more experienced, Jiraiya and Orochimaru had become the best of friends as well as fierce rivals. They even fought together with Tsunade as a team in the Great Ninja War of the time. They went through many battles and even survived the rain leader and legendary ninja Hanzo. All three were beaten by the man but he let them live and actually appointed them the three sannin on Konoha for their impressive skill and for being the only three ninja of their entire division to fight him and survive. Jiraiya thought of Orochimaru as a brother and a friend.

It broke his heart when a few years later he heard rumors that Orochimaru was performing experiments on citizens and shinobi alike for his own twisted ends. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that his best friend would do such a thing. However, there was no doubt the night Sarutobi went to confront Orochimaru. At the time, the Third could have killed his wayward student but his heart wouldn't allow him to and Orochimaru escaped. However, before Orochiamru could leave fire country, Jiraiya caught up with him. He asked his teammate and friend what he was doing and why he would betray their village. Orochimaru had cackled in madness and told Jiraiya that he knew nothing. He told him that the village was holding him back from his ultimate goals and the fact that Minato Namikaze had been chosen as the Fourth Hokage instead of him was proof of this. He was determined to achieve immortality no matter what the cost. Jiraiya had tried to reason with his teammate but Orochimaru was too far gone for such words. It came down to a fight and Jiraiya simply couldn't bring himself to fight his friend with his full power. His resolve wasn't strong enough to go after his friend with the intent to kill and Orochimaru had defeated him. He had failed to bring his friend back and he had spent the next few years creating a spy network, not only for the benefit of the village but also to keep tabs on his old friend and to try and find a way to bring him back from the darkness that had consumed his heart.

'What a fool I was.' Jiraiya thought as he looked at Orochimaru. He now knew that this was his entire fault. Sarutobi dying, the village being attacked during the chunin exams, and now the last ditch effort to destroy the leaf village could have been averted had Jiraiya simply done what should have been done all those long years ago. He felt that he had failed to save his best friend from the darkness that consumed his soul but what Jiraiya no saw was that his plan was doomed to fail from the start. Jiraiya finally understood that a person cannot be saved unless they themselves _want_ to be saved. It's impossible to change someone's mind about anything unless they decide that they want to change it. Jiraiya had spent years trying to figure out how to save his friend without realizing that his friend and the man that was like a brother to him was already dead.

'I will do what should have been done a long time ago. I've been a fool up until now, but I won't allow my past feelings and idiocy cause the village anymore problems. No more trying the save someone who has no desire to be saved. No more putting the village at risk because I can't be man enough to admit that my friend is gone and only a monster stands before me. I will do what must be done!' Jiraiya thought as his eyes burned with the will of fire. He would succeed and defeat Orochiamru, even if it cost him his life!

Jiraiya spared a brief glance over to Gamabunta to see how the old toad was faring. He saw that his old friend had quite a few wounds on his body, however Manda was also in bad shape. The snake had numerous bleeding slashes on his body and he was panting in exhaustion. Gamabunta had several bruises on his body that came from tail whips from Manda and it was apparent that Manda had come very close to biting and injecting his venom into the toad. Summons could only remain in the human realm for a short amount of time and it seemed that they would soon run out of time and return to the summoning realm, if they both survived of course.

Gamabunta launched a water bullet at Manda. The snake dodged and came towards him. Gamabunta stabbed with his blade but Manda was able to duck under the blade and opened his mouth to bite the toad. Gamabunta side stepped and slashed Manad on the back. The snake hissed in pain and coiled around Gamabunta quickly.

"I've got you now you toad! Prepare to die!" Manda shouted and he began to squeeze Gamabunta.

He rose up and prepared to sink his fangs into the toad's unprotected side before Gamabunta opened his mouth and his long tongue shot out. His tongue was lined with metal studs and with the force he could wield it with, it was as damaging as a kanabo. Bunta was able to whip his tongue out to smash Manda in the face, however, Manda had been able to apply his bite and Gamabunta could feel the poison in his system. The serpent was knocked senseless for a few moments and that was all the time Gamabunta needed. Manda had relaxed his death grip and Gamabunta jumped out of the ensnarement and leapt towards the disoriented snake with the intent to finish the fight. Manda regain his senses enough to open his mouth and spit out venom. It hit Gamabunta in the face and he cried out as it began to burn his face. However, Manda's desperation move came too late. Gamabunta continued to move forward and drove the blade into Manda's chest. He continued forward and finally ended up at the bog that Jiraiya had created earlier. He pushed them both into the bog and they were ensnared by the swamp.

"Bunta!" Jiraiya shouted as he watched the two giant summons sink under the swamp.

Jiraiya was relieved when he saw a puff of smoke from under the swamp. That meant that one of the beasts had been able to return to its world before death claimed them. Jiraiya could only pray that Gamabunta had been the one to escape death's clutches this day.

"What a failure Manda is." Orochimaru said with a snort of uncaring.

"You treat everyone as if they are tools. Have you no regard for human life or the lives of those under you?!" Jiraiya shouted. He may have not liked Manda but even he didn't deserve such disrespect.

"Don't you understand yet? I have no intention of treating anyone or anything under me as significant as they are all means to an end. I will be immortal and I will live forever. Just look at you. Just like Sarutobi-sensei you continue to grow weak and old with age. I will outlive you and everyone else on this planet and one day achieve my goal of mastering every jutsu in the world! Nothing else matters but attaining these goals!" Orochiamru said with a cackle.

"You truly are lost. I will finish this." Jiraiya said as he bit his thumbs and began to use his blood to draw marking around his eyes. He then slammed his hands into the ground.

"**Summoning Jutsu!**" Jiraiya shouted out.

In a large plumb of smoke, a large purple toad with black marking appeared. He had a large shield on his back as well as a sasumata which was a U-shaped staff that was studded with iron spikes. He wore a black ninja outfit and looked around a bit until his gaze fell upon Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya what do you need? You must be in trouble if you summoned me. You know that I am clumsy and not very graceful." Gamaken stated.

"I understand that Gamaken, but I need your help." Jiraiya said as he jumped onto his head and clasped his hands together.

"I need you to defend me and buy me the time I need." Jiraiya said to his old friend.

"Very well, I will do my best." Gamaken stated as he grabbed his sasumata in one hand and held his shield in the other.

"I don't know what you have planned Jiraiya but I'm not about to allow you to have the time you need." Orochimaru stated as he slammed his bloodied hand into the ground and summoned up a multitude of serpents. They were not as powerful as Manda was nor where they as intelligent, but they were still deadly and they only had one opponent to attack.

"Kill them!" Orochimaru shouted.

The giant snakes attacked en mass and attempted to take out Jiraiya and Gamaken. However, Jiraiya had summoned this particular toad for a reason. Gamaken was not as powerful as some of the other toads under Jiraiya's control but he was the best at what he did and that was defense. Gamaken may have stated that he wasn't very graceful but not one serpent was able to touch them. Gamaken jumped, dodged, and evaded the snakes with the use of his shield and his sasumata. He had actually dispelled two serpents by bashing their skulls in with his iron studded staff. Jiraiya, meanwhile, was focusing on keeping his hands together and gathering the needed chakra and time to complete his ultimate technique. However, Orochimaru was not ready to allow him to get the time he needed.

Gamaken jumped over a snake and sank his barbed staff into its neck. At the same time, he brought his shield up to block a snake that was focused on tackling him. He brought his staff up quickly and slammed it into the snake's head. While this was going on, Orochimaru snuck up behind the duo and jumped up to attack Jiraiya.

"Watch out Jiraiya!" Gamaken shouted as the toad sage still had his eyes closed.

'Almost there!' Jiraiya thought as he saw his old teammate appear in front of him.

"**Great Breakthrough Jutsu!**" Orochimaru said as he unleashed a hurricane force wind attack that blew Jiraiya clear off Gamaken's head and blasted him through the trees.

"Leaving yourself wide open for an attack. Haven't you learned anything you idiot?" Orochiamru said as he shook his head in amusement.

"Oh I've learned quite a few new tricks over the years teme."

"So you finally decided to call us out eh Jiraiya-boy?" Said a male voice that was not Jiraiya's.

"It's about time. Let's hurry up so that I can go home and get dinner started." Said a feminine voice.

"With you two helping me I'm sure that this won't take long. After all compared to the two of you, I'm just a little guppy." Jiraiya said as he appeared from the trees.

His appearance hadn't changed much except for a few key differences. Around his eyes were the red lines of blood that he had painted on them before and the eyes themselves were more toad like. His nose had enlarged and had a few warts on them. He also had grown a white goatee. The biggest difference was the two small toads on his shoulders. The toad both wore small cloaks and their eyes held a high level of intelligence. The toad on the right was green in color and had a white tomahawk hair style with a small beard. The toad on the right was also green in color but she had purple colored bumps on the top of her head giving her a unique look. These were the Two Great Sage Toads, Fukasaku and Shima. They were the toad elders and heirs to the Great Toad Sage.

"What are they supposed to be and why do you look even more idiotic then before?" Orochimaru asked, not at all concerned with Jiraiya's new look.

"We are the two great sage toads. And we are the ones who taught Jiraiya how to use nature chakra." Fukasaku stated as he gave Orochimaru a grin.

"Nature chakra?" Orochimaru asked slightly intrigued.

"That's right this is my sage mode. I normally don't like using it as it drives the ladies away because it ruins my naturally handsome face. Still the benefits it grants me are all worth it." Jiraiya said with a smirk of his own.

"Other than looking like an even bigger imbecile, what does this new nature chakra grant you?" Orochimaru asked, his tone once again bored. He believed this to another one of Jiraiya's pathetic tricks.

"Increased speed."

Orochimaru turned and saw Jiraiya standing right behind him. He had just cleared a few meters in a split second.

"Increased strength." Jirayia said as he punched Orochimaru in the face. The snake sannin's head snapped to the side and he flew away at high velocities.

"These are just two of the things that this new power gives me. It is also what's going to help me finish you once and for all." Jiraiya said as he turned to Gamaken.

"Gamaken, thanks for the help, but I'll take it from here." Jiraiya said to his friend.

"Are you sure Jiraiya?" The Giant toad asked. There were still three giant snakes slithering around and he didn't want to leave until they were defeated.

"It'll be fine Gamaken. Go home and rest up. You did a great job." Fukasaku said.

"Very well. Thanks you honorable elder." Gamaken said as he dipped his head in respect and returned to the toad summoning realm.

The three snakes immediately turned to Jiraiya and went to attack. Jiraiya didn't move as Shima and Fuasaku turned to the snakes.

"Overgrown worms." Fukasaku said as he opened his mouth and spat out a high pressure stream of water. The stream hit one of the snakes and sliced through its neck like a sword through paper. Not to be out done, Shima spat out a large ball of fire that consumed the remaining two serpents.

"Not even good enough for a warm up. If this is how strong your opponents are Jiraiya-chan, you shouldn't have gone through the trouble of summoning us." Shima said in annoyance.

"Don't worry Gamabinta had already defeated the head snake boss. It's Orochimaru that I'll need help with." Jiraiya said.

"Very well. Let's get this over with. I'm not as young as I used to be." Shima said.

"Stop complaining! You don't see me gripping out our old age do you?!" Fukasaku yelled at his wife.

"Speak for yourself! I never said that I was old, only that it's been a while since I was able to stretch my legs like this." Shima replied angrily.

"Um, can you two finish this argument later?" Jiraiya asked a bit sheepishly.

"Sure." Both replied as they looked away from one another in annoyance.

Jiraiya watched as Orochimaru appeared from the ground, seemingly unharmed except for a dislocated jaw. He cracked his jaw into place and wiped the trickle of blood from his lips.

"Your strength has indeed increased quite a bit but that's not going to be enough to defeat me!" Orochimaru said as he opened his mouth and push his stomach in. Suddenly a myriad of snakes appeared and began to slither towards Jiraiya, he saw a few open their mouths and reveal long and deadly blades.

'Does he really think that that is going to work?' Jiraiya thought as he got on all fours and his hair began to spike out.

"**Sage Art: Hair Needle Barrage!**" Jiraiya said as his air began to shot out at high speeds and stiffened until they were deadly needles. The projectiles tore through all of the snakes in a matter of moments, leaving them all dead. Jiraiya had little time to rest before Orochimaru was in front of him wielding his legendary sword.

For a few minutes, Jiraiya was forced to dodge the razor sharp edge of the Kusanagi. Jiraiya soon got annoyed and the two great sage toads decided that they had had enough. Shima shot her tongue out and wrapped Orochimaru's wrists together. Jiraiya took the opportunity to run through hand signs of his own.

"**Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu!**" Jiraiya yelled out as his hair came alive and wrapped around Orochiamru.

"**Toad oil Bullet!**" Jiraiya said as he spat out a large amount of oil that covered Orochiamru from head to toe.

Shima and Fukasaku immediately attack as well. Shima shot out a large fireball while Fukasaku shot out a high powered wind that enhanced the power of the fire ball before it hit the captured snake sannin and exploded as it ignited the oil.

"Ha, lets' see him came back from that!" Fukasaku said with a smirk.

"Don't get cocky. Snakes are so bothersome in their ability to get out of trouble." Shima replied in annoyance.

Jiraiya deactivated his lion's mane technique and jumped back as the explosion expanded outward. The heat from the flames was nearly unbearable and Jiraiya knew that not even Orochimaru would have been able to escape from such a combination unscathed. Jiraiya took a moment to contemplate his new form and his increased power. Chakra could be produced by nature and it flowed all around the world. Few people could actually sense this chakra and even fewer had ever been able to use it. This is because to use natural chakra, one must be able to balance it perfectly with their own. Even Jiraiya hadn't yet been able to fully balance the two chakras, hence why his nose was more toad like then it was human. Sage mode was an empowered state that Jiraiya entered when he was able to draw the nature chakra into his body and successfully blend it with his own chakra. It was very difficult and that was why he had to remain perfectly still for a long time before activating it as he had to focus to draw the nature chakra into him. Shima and Fukasaku were helping him as well. The two sage toads were able to draw on the nature chakra as well and helped Jiraiya utilize it in battle. Should a person fail to properly balance the two chakras, they would be turned into a statue of a toad. Despite the many benefits that sage mode gave him Jiraiya could only stay in this mode for a short amount of time.

'I've got to finish this soon. The drawback of sage mode is that it will leave me completely exhausted for a long time after it is deactivated.' Jiraiya thought as he heard something strange. He heard and low hiss of anger and immediately looked around to see what the cause was. He assumed that Orochimaru had summoned another snake but he couldn't figure out when the snake sannin would have gained the time to do such a thing.

"I never thought I would have to us this form against you."

Jiraiya looked as the flames began to die down. In the center of the large crater formed by the flame jutsu was a large white snake. However, what separated this serpent from any other was its face. Orochimaru's face had become large and serpentine in appearance. Coarse brown hair fell from its head. It was truly a monstrosity.

"What have you done to yourself?!" Jiraiya asked in disgust.

"This is my true form Jiraiya. Years of experimentation have resulted in me being able to discover and create a new and much more powerful form with which I will crush my opponents!" The giant white serpent said with a hissing laugh.

"You truly have turned into something other than human. I will end your twisted dreams and ambitions here and now." Jiraiya said with determination.

"Well Ma, seems that dinner will have to wait." Fukasaku said with a smirk. It had been a long time since he had been in a good fight and he couldn't wait to go all out.

"So it seems. Still dinner always tastes better after a little exercise. Heaven knows that you've been slacking off for years." Shima replied.

"What was that?!" Her husband asked her in annoyance.

"Can you two please stay focused?" Jiraiya asked as Orochimaru attacked. With incredible speed the white snake slithered to the toad sage and struck. Jiraiya jumped back as Fukasaku spat out a burst of wind. Orochimaru went through the wind attack as if it was just a gentle breeze and used his long tail to hit Jiraiya in the chest. Jiraiya flew back but held his ground and never took his eyes off his old teammate.

"**Fire Storm Jutsu!**" Jiraiya yelled out as both he and Shima shout out huge burst of flames that were soon augmented by Fukasaku's wind attack. The snake couldn't avoid the wide range of the fire and was hit dead on. Orochimaru howled in pain as the flames burnt his leathery hide. However as the flames died down, the blackened skin began to slowly return to its pristine white color.

'Those are some serious regenerative skills. However, he can't keep that up indefinitely.' Jiraiya thought as he watched the rest of the wounds on Orochimaru heal.

"You'll pay for that!" Orochimaru said with a hiss of anger as he opened his mouth and sprayed out a deadly looking poison.

"Watch out Jiraiya!" Shima shouted as Jiraiya jumped back as quickly as he could. Wherever the liquid touched, it burned through the substance quickly.

"Getting hit by that stuff would be troublesome." Fukasaku replied as he watched it burn through a thick tree easily.

"You'll have to be much quicker than that if you plan to beat me." Jiraiya said simply.

"Very well." Orochimaru stated as his white skin began to squirm and slither.

'What's going on?' Jiraiya thought in surprise and horror as what he thought to be the white scales that covered Orochimaru's skin began to come to life and it was revealed that Orochiamru's body was in fact made up of a multitude of small white serpents. A few white snakes shot out from the main body with the intent to ensnare or inject Jiraiya with their venom. The toad sage leapt back as Shima and Fukasaku quickly dispatched the serpents, however Shima noticed something strange about the blood that was released.

"Be very careful Jiraiya-chan. When he or those snakes bleed, their blood turns into a toxic cloud of poison." Shima said to the toad sannin. Shima, while prone to complain about small seemingly insignificant things, was great at analyzing and figuring out opponent's strength and weaknesses.

"Do you see any way that we can take him out? Being able to regenerate from grievous injuries and even his blood is a weapon. What can we do?" Jiraiya asked in frustration. He couldn't use sage mode for an extended amount of time and he knew that it was going to run out soon.

"You can die!"

Jiraiya looked up to see Orochimaru coming towards him with his mouth open. He was intent on devouring his three opponents. Jiraiya knelt on all fours as his long white hair covered his entire body.

"**Spiked Tank!**" He said as his hair spiked and hardened.

Orochimaru slammed into the defensive jutsu and was pierced, slashed and cut numerous times by the hair that had become as hard as steel and yet as sharp as a katana. He slithered back as he blood splashed over the ground.

Jiraiya deactivated his jutsu and jumped back as he covered his mouth to prevent himself from inhaling any of the toxic fumes created from the blood.

"This isn't working. Bring out some help." Fukasaku plainly said.

"You got it! **Summoning Jutsu!**" Jiraiya shouted as he slammed his hand into the ground.

In a large plume of smoke a giant toad appeared. He was gray and brown colored, but what set him apart from any other was the two giant swords on his back. This was Gamahiro, the snake fighter.

"Jiraiya-sama, Shima-sama, Fuasaku-sama, how may I be of assistance?" Gamahrio asked.

"We need time to make a plan. Just keep him busy Gamahiro." Shima ordered.

"Hai." The toad responded as he pulled his swords out and leapt to attack Orochimaru.

"What did you have in mind dear?" Fukasaku asked in wife.

"He can regenerate very quickly, thus we need to cause a great deal of damage swiftly. Jiraiya-chan how good have you gotten with seals?" She asked.

"I'm a seal master and the best in the world if I do say so myself." Jiraiya said with smirk.

"We may want to take that with a grain of salt dear. You know how much Jiraiya likes to show boat and make himself seem important." Fukasaku said, much to the chagrin of Jiraiya.

"We don't have time for this right now. Listen closely Jiraiya-chan." Shima said as she began to tell her plan to them.

Meanwhile, Gamahiro was giving his all to try and slow down the white serpent. This was made more and more difficult as any wounds he inflicted with his blades quickly healed and he had to careful of the numerous white snakes that made up the main body.

"I grow tired of your interference!" Orochimaru hissed at the giant toad as he charged head on towards him. Gamahiro saw an opportunity to end this battle and leapt forwards as well as he gripped his blades tightly. Gamahiro avoided Orochimaru's giant maw and ignored the numerous white serpents that jumped from Orochimaru's back to bite into his flesh. He used the opening to bisect the white snake into two quivering parts. Gamahiro grunted in pain as he felt the poison of the snakes that had bitten as well as the paralyzing smoke produced from the snakes' blood afflict his body. He dropped his blades as his hands had grown numb.

'At least I was able to defeat him.'

"You worthless excuse for an amphibian, did you really think I could be killed so easily!"

Gamahiro opened his eyes to stare in shock as the two pieces of snake reattached themselves and Orochiamru turned to the now defenseless toad. Gamahiro was defenseless. He couldn't move and he could feel the poison running through his body.

Orochimaru turned from the weakened toad and looked for Jiraiya. He didn't enjoy having to fight the toad. He wanted the main target, his former teammate. He saw Jiraiya in the distance kneeling on the ground.

'I don't know what he has planned but he won't complete it!' Orochimaru thought as he tunneled into the earth.

"It's almost done." Jiraiya informed his two sage teachers.

"Wait a minute. Where did he go?" Fukasaku said as he looked around and was unable to spot the giant snake.

"Let me see." Shima said as she stuck her tongue out. Her tongue was covered with receptors that allowed her to pinpoint any enemy.

"Under us!" She shouted a moment too late as white snakes erupted around them and wrapped them up.

'Darn it!' All three thought as they attempted to out muscle the snakes. Orochimaru appeared from the earth behind them and opened his mouth to swallow them whole.

"Die!" he shouted.

However, at the last moment, Gamahiro jumped in the way taking the devastating bite from the giant serpent. The toad grabbed onto Orochimaru and kept him from getting to his friends.

"Gamahiro!" Shima shouted in shock.

"Hurry!" Gamahiro shouted as he kept his arms locked around Orochiamru, refusing to release the giant snake, despite the numerous serpents that were continuously biting him as well as the copious amounts of venom flowing through it. Gamahiro could feel his life leaving him and soon he was aware that his last moments of life had come.

"I am sorry I failed you my elders. At least I was able to do something right before the end." Gamahiro said weakly before slumping over in death.

"No!" Jiraiya shouted in rage.

"Don't worry you'll be joining him soon enough!" Orochiamru shouted as he attempted to move around the deceased toad. However, he found that he still couldn't move. In a last stand of defiance, Gamahiro had locked his body around the snake, preventing him from being able to move.

"Let me go!' Orochimaru shouted as he attempted to dislodge the serpent.

"Do it now Jiraiya-chan!" Shima shouted with tears in her eyes.

"You got it!" Jiraiya said as he jumped back and began a long sequence of seals.

"Take this!" Jiraiya shouted as he jumped back about five meters and slammed his hand into the ground. Immediately, the seal he had created glowed a bright red before a column of fire shot into the sky. A line of fire ran across the ground, connecting that seal with the other four Jiraiya had been able to create while Gamahiro had been fighting Orochimaru. All four seals activated as well and four more columns of fire shot into the air. The five seals created the kanji for fire, and Orochimaru was in the center of this character. The seal that Jiraiya had been creating when Orochiamru had attacked was directly under the serpent. And it was also glowing.

"You fought well Gamahiro, you will always be remembered." Jiraiya said as he created the seal for fire.

"Die Orochimaru! **Sage Art of Fire: Immolation Flame!**" he shouted as a line ran from each of the five columns of fire and hit Orochimaru. The giant snake cried out in pain from the flames. However this wasn't the true attack. The five lines activated the final seal around Orochimaru and Gamahiro. The seal activated ad everything inside of the area created by the five seals erupted into fire. From the sky an observer would see a giant fire symbol that stretched for meters in all directions.

Jiraiya fell to his knees in exhaustion. That was one of his most powerful techniques. It took a long time to set up as the seals had to be created for the move to work and each seal required a large amount of chakra to be stored into it for them to work. Jiraiya was feeling the beginnings of chakra exhaustion and hoped the battle was over.

"Are you alright Jiraiya?" Fukasaku said as he began to sweat in exhaustion as well. Both he and Shima had been drawing on the nature chakra as well and helping Jiraiya convert it into sage chakra. They then drew upon the sage chakra running through Jiraiya's body to strengthen their attacks.

"I'm fine so long as it's over." He said solemnly as he watched the fires burn down as the stored chakra in each seal finally ran out.

"Gamahiro." Shima said sadly as tears ran down her eyes.

Jiraiya said nothing as Fukasaku reached over to comfort his wife. He just walked through the burnt and blackened earth as he approached the main seal that had been beneath the two giant bodies. Jiraiya had to turn away from the ashes that littered the ground. He was sure that Gamahiro now lays spread around them. He was very upset at having to basically cremate his friend. When a toad fell in battle, it was customary to bring the body back to Myobokuzan, the summoning realm of the toads. There, the body was laid to rest in a giant funeral pyre where all of the toads could come and honor the fallen.

'Forgive me, my friend.' Jiraiya thought as a tear ran down his face. He knelt to the ground and scooped up some of the ashes that were soon blown away with the wind.

"At least that monstrosity was taken with him. Gamahiro died a hero." Fukasaku said solemnly.

"I am not so easy to kill!"

Jiraiya had no time to block and was skewered in the side by the Kusanagi that sprang up from the earth. He jumped back in agony as the blade was ripped from his side. He looked up in shock at the battle worn, but still alive form of Orochimaru rise up from the ground. He had returned to his human form and looked as if he had been through a war. His body was littered with wounds and severe burns covered him. Orochimaru had been very, very lucky to survive. That fire jutsu was easily strong enough to send him into the afterlife had Orochimaru not acted quickly. If any one of the snakes that composed his form were to escape, he could have regenerated from that single snake. He had sent all of them in all directions at the last moment. Each and every one of them was destroyed except for one that had been able to tunnel deep enough into the earth to escape. It was still hit by a small fraction of the fire jutsu hence his disheveled and injured body. He couldn't believe that Jiraiya was this powerful. Thankfully, his blade was highly poisonous. He knew that it was now only a matter of time until Jiraiya succumbed to the poison currently running through his body.

"I told you Jiraiya that I will never die! I certainly won't be killed by a dope like you!" He shouted with a pant of exhaustion.

"You coward." Jiraiya said simply.

"What? How dare you accuse me of being a coward?" Orochimaru said, slightly confused.

"Your search for immortality and you dream of gaining all of the jutsus in the world show your fear. You are afraid of death. You have been ever since you were young. I was there when Sarutobi-sensei was trying to consol you after your parents died. I felt sorry for you but also thought it made us more alike as my parents had been dead for years. I noticed during the third ninja war that you were getting more and more distant the more battle we went through. Once I heard about what you were doing, I realized that you are terrified of death. After your parents died, you were forcibly shown that the world is cold and cruel and will have no qualms about killing you. The finality of death terrifies you and you will do anything to avoid it. You started off wanting to master all of the jutsu in the world so that you would be too powerful to be killed by any opponent. However, you still realized that everyone dies no matter what, whether it is by old age or by being killed. Thus your dream turned into both learning how to become immortal as well as desiring to know all of the jutsu in the world. This way you would be assured to live forever and never have to welcome death's cold embrace." Jiraiya said in a slightly pitying tone. Many ninja feared death, however his old friend refused to get over this fear and accept death as a natural part of life and an inevitability.

"Shut your mouth you idiot!" Orochimaru shouted in absolute fury. Having the "dead last" and dope methodically strip apart his mental armor and expose the truth of his ambitions was too much for the snake sannin.

"I will become the greatest ninja in the world! It has nothing to do with fear!" Orochimaru added as his fury soared to new heights. He was not going to allow Jiraiya to die from the poison. He wanted to kill his former friend with his own two hands immediately. He began calling upon his remaining chakra to use his ultimate technique. In an explosion of purple chakra a giant eight headed white serpent appeared. Its central head opened its mouth to show Orochimaru fused into the beast.

"Say what you want idiot but it doesn't change the fact that you will die here and then Konoha will burn!" Orochimaru said with an insane cackle as the remaining seven heads began to strike at the weakened Jiraiya.

Jirayia jumped back as Shima and Fukasaku repeatedly attacked the heads with an assortment of fire, wind, and water jutsus. However, the snake heads were very strong and were only slowed by the repeated attacks of their much smaller prey.

'I need an edge.' Jiraiya thought as the serpent heads continued to attack him. He looked around and saw something that lifted his spirits. He saw the discarded blades of Gamahiro. In sage mode, he was strong enough to actually pick up one of the massive blades, though he wasn't able to wield it very well at all.

Jiraiya ran over and grabbed the sword's handle with both hands. Using all of his strength, he lifted the blade and swiftly turned to severe the heads as it was the closest. The other heads moved away in caution. Jiraiya knew that he couldn't use this blade effectively enough to fight these heads. He used all of his strength to hurl the blade towards the head. He got lucky as the blade sank deeply into the neck of a serpent. He followed up with a combination flame and wind technique with Fuasaku and Shima. This relieved him of two more snakes.

"Jirayia this isn't working. Go and take care of the main head that contains your opponent. Me and Shima will deal with the rest and clear a way for you!" Fukasaku said as he had Shima leapt off of his shoulders and went to attack the serpents.

With the two toad sages disconnected from him, he had only about a minute left in sage mode. He raced towards the head that had been hanging back as Shima fought off two heads that were trying to eat her. Fukasaku took care of one for her with a wind blade through the snake's eye. Shima took care of the second one with a high forced stream of fire that burned through its skull.

Jiraiya jumped onto the snake's body and ran towards the main head. Jiraiya was surprised when it opened its mouth and a high force wind hit him. The blow took him completely by surprise and he was thrown off. The snakes head then slammed itself into Jiraiya, throwing him into the ground. He coughed up blood as he got to his knees. He turned and saw Orochimaru leaping from the snake's mouth to skewer him with his blade. Jiraiya ducked under the blade and slammed his fist into Orochimaru's face. He followed up with a knee to the gut and grabbed Orochimaru's head into the ground. The snake sannin had had enough and kicked Jiraiya in the head. He slashed Jiraiya across the chest, adding more poison into his body. He shot snakes out of his sleeves and threw Jiraiya towards the main head of the serpent's body. It opened it mouth to eat him and Jiraiya knew that he couldn't avoid it in time.

'I've got no choice.' Jiraiya thought as he raised his working hand.

"**Ultimate Rasengan!**" He shouted as a rasengan the size of a huge boulder formed into his right hand. He slammed the massive energy sphere into the head and completely shredded through it. He continued going until it bored into the main body and exploded. A massive shock wave was created as the eight headed serpent was completely obliterated.

The dust cloud that sprang up was blinding and Orochimaru had to cover his face. He looked through the cloud and saw Jirayia slumped over onto the ground. He saw that the toad sage was trying to move but was failing.

'The poison's finally gotten to him and that last attack must have wasted his remaining energy. It's admirable that he was able to last as long as he was able to.' Orochimaru saw the toad odd toad jumped back onto his shoulders and they seemed to be trying to get him to his feet, but were failing.

'It's time to end this.' Orochimaru thought as he tightened his grip on Kusanagi and ran towards Jiraiya. Orochimaru stood behind the struggling toad sage and raised his sword into the air. The two toads on his shoulders were looking at him in fury but it was obvious that they were no longer threats as they had not yet attacked him nor looked to be able to. They did look to each other from time to time but Orochimaru ignored this as he looked at his struggling former friend.

"You were always challenging me on our team Jiraiya. I was the prodigy of the academy and you were the idiotic dead last. I was disgusted by your stupidity and brash actions. However, slowly over the years we were together we became closer. You were the closest thing I had to a friend or family. However, that all changed when Minato Namikaze was made the fourth hokage. It should have been me! I should have been the fourth and the fact that he was your student stung all the more. It felt like not only Sarutobi-sensei but you as well had betrayed me. I promised that day to never allow anyone to be close to me again. I completely gave my attention and efforts over the becoming immortal and the ultimate being on earth. Our paths have crossed and we are now enemies. I will never give up my goals and will one day become immortal. This is more important to me than anything else on this earth, even former ties to those I used to call friend. Goodbye dope." Orochimaru said, there was a very slight amount of sadness in his tone. He slashed down with his sword but it was caught between Jiraiya's palms.

"Yes, goodbye my old friend." Jiraiya said as Shima and Fukasaku opened their mouths and began to release a long, low croaking sound. Orochimaru grit his teeth at the annoying sound but he was stunned when Jiraiya and the whole landscape disappeared. He soon found himself floating in a cube of water. Surrounding the cube were four large statues of toads.

'What is going on? Is this a genjutsu? Jiraiya never was any good at genjutsu.' He thought as his vision then turned completely black. The next thing Orochimaru knew, he was lying on his back on the battle broken field. This didn't register as he gazed at the large stone sword that was pierced through his chest. It had hit a number of his major organs and Orochimaru could see that it was a fatal wound. Orochimaru could feel his life slipping away. It was an interesting feeling.

'It feels cold.' Orochimaru thought dimly as he saw Jiraiya appear in front of him. Despite everything that had happened, Orochimaru could see sadness and regret in Jiraiya's eyes.

"It seems you've finally defeated me Jiraiya. It only took you about thirty years." Orochimaru said in a teasing tone that he hadn't used since they had been teammates. This tone always rubbed Jiraiya the wrong way.

"Shut it Orochi-teme. You're just mad because I finally proved that I was better than you just like I've always said." Jiraiya said in the slightly irritated, slightly amused tone that he always used when Orochimaru had tried to wheedle a response out of him.

"It's strange. It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would." Orochimaru said as he turned his gaze up to the clear blue sky. He hadn't gazed at the sky like this since the day his parents had died. He gazed into the sky on that day and watched as the birds flew. He wondered what it would be like to be one of them and simply fly away from his problems. Jiraiya was right. Death terrified him. He was terrified of fading away into nothing. All his accomplishment, everything about him, what he could have been and what he currently was. Death could take all of these things away as swiftly as the flame of a candle can be snuffed out by a strong breeze. Years of research and countless hours of experimentation to avoid one of the only few constants of the world. Orochimaru could only stare at death now and finally accept it as something that couldn't be fought or cheated.

'In the end my ambitions failed. You were right Sarutobi-sensei. It seems that talent alone will never be enough to overcome those who fight for what they truly love. Also a true ninja doesn't fear death but accepts it for what it is, reality.' Orochimaru thought as his vision slowly faded away.

"Take care of Tsunade dope. Though knowing you, she'll kill you one day for peeping on her in the bathhouse." Orochimaru said in a whisper as he coughed up blood.

"It would be worth it." Jiraiya said with a perverted smirk as he deactivated sage mode. Shima and Fukasaku returned to the two realm, but not before taking Gamahiro's blade's with them.

"You…dope." Orochimaru said with a chuckle as his eyes closed and he was finally welcomed into the arms of death.

The snake sannin, Orochimaru, the man who was considered one of Konoha's greatest traitor and villains was dead. He was killed by his oldest and best friend.

**(end)**

**Here's chapter 53! I hope you like it. I also want to dedicate this chapter to one of my best friends Marchgirl. Today is her birthday and I want to say Happy birthday MG! I'm glad that God blesses the world with your birth! **

**How is Konoha going to handle a battle with two of the seven swordsmen of the mist? How are the girls going to handle an insane Jugo? What is going to happen with Naruto and Itachi! That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

**Sorry for taking so long my readers. I've got a lot on my plate right now but here is the next chapter and 55 will be up soon! I want to give a shout out to a friend of mine Chewie Cookies. He's a very good author, even if he updates very slowly. Check out his stories if you get a chance. Now on to the story!**

**(Konoha Hospital)**

"It's a little cramped in here. Let's take this outside!" Kisame said with a large grin as he leapt through the nearest window.

"Let's go!" Raiga shouted as he rushed after his former comrade.

Suigetsu was not so quick to follow. Both had legendary swords on their side and he had nothing to use to counter them. He looked around and found one of the ninja that had been knocked out by Raiga earlier. The ninja had been electrocuted, but that didn't matter to Suigetsu. What did matter was that this ninja had a katana beside him.

'Not much when compared to those blades of theirs but it's better than nothing.' Suigetsu thought as he picked it up and ran to catch up with the other two.

As soon as he leapt through the window, he witnessed a lightning bolt crash onto the rooftop that held Kisame. Suigetsu turned and saw Raiga holding his two thunder fangs into the air and realized that he had been behind the attack.

"I know it won't be that easy Kisame. Let's get serious!" Raiga shouted as he jumped to the site of the attack. The roof was burning but there was no sign of Kisame anywhere.

'Where did he go?' Raiga thought as he slowly brought his blades up once again and charged them with lightning.

'Maybe I should stay back and wait. I could always just kill the winner and then take both of their blades.' Suigetsu thought as he watched Kisame jumpethrough the roof and slash down with Samehada. Raige brought his blades up and blocked. However, physically Kisame was far beyond Raiga's strength and began to force him to his knees.

"You're so weak Raiga. To think you would dare raise you blades against me!" Kisame said with a savage smile as he kicked Raiga in his chest. He followed up by forming hand signs for a favored jutsu.

"**Water style: Exploding water shock wave!**" Kisame shouted as a large wave of water erupted from his mouth to smash into the defenseless Raiga. The roof top they were on was soon covered in the residual water left over from the attack.

Raige, not to be outdone, rose from the attack with a look of rage on his face. He raised his twin fangs as electricity flowed through them.

"**Lightening ball!**" He said as a small orb of chakra formed between the twin blades. The orb of lightening flew towards Kisame and hit him in the chest. Raige's smile disappeared when Kisame dissolved into a puddle of water.

'A water clone. Where did he get to?' Raiga thought. He question was answered when Kisame appeared in front of him and slashed down with Samehada.

Raige brought his blades up to block and was once again reminded why Kisame was considered the most powerful of the seven swordsmen. His strength was beyond comprehension and he was only wielding his sword with one hand. This left his other hand free to form hand signs.

"**Water Prison Jutsu!**" He shouted as he grabbed Raiga with his free hand. Raiga soon found himself trapped in a sphere of water. The lightening welder glared at his former comrade as he began to drown.

"Now don't go and give me that look. A good ninja should know better than to lower their guard." Kisame said as he enjoyed watching Raiga drown.

"Too true."

Kisame looked down as a sword ripped though his chest. He turned his head to look at the grinning Suigetsu. Suigetsu had been waiting for the right moment to get take advantage of one of the distracted ninja. He knew that Kisame was by far the more dangerous of the two. Thus he decided to target him.

"Not bad brat. I almost didn't hear you coming." Kisame said with a grin as he once again turned into water.

"Another water clone?!" Suigetsu said in shock as Raiga was released and tried to catch his breath.

"Don't tell me you actually thought you could kill Kisame so easily." Raiga said with a snort of disbelief.

Suigetsu didn't respond as he knelt down and laid his hand on the water's surface. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He opened his eyes quickly as he leapt back. A split second later, Samehada shot out of the water very nearly taking Suigetsu's head with it.

"I have you know! **Lightening Burial: Banquet of Lightening Jutsu!**" He shouted as his blades charged with lightening and he slammed them into the water. Multiple lightening strikes began to appear from the water as well as the roof top below. Kisame soon jumped out of the water with his clothes smoldering. He seemed slightly hurt but it wasn't anything serious.

"Not bad at all. Maybe you're not as pathetic as you used to be." Kisame said, his smirk never leaving his face.

Suigetsu, however, was not as happy about the move. He was still standing on the water when the attack had hit and had been shocked. Raiga had jumped slightly before the attack could shock him.

"You could have warned me." Suigetsu snarled.

"You should have been paying attention." Raiga said briefly as he charged his fangs with lightening chakra once again.

"While that attack was impressive, I am starting to get a bit bored with you two. I guess I kill one of you now." Kisame said in a nonchalant tone. He raced forward and ducked under the slashes of Raiga. He sliced up with samehada and delivered a savage wound to Raiga's shoulder. The shoulder was shredded under the scale covered sword and Raiga shouted out in pain. Kisame followed up by punching Raiga in the face. He turned and kicked Suigetsu through the head. However he eyes widened in shock when Suigetsu's head erupted into water from the kick. His head swiftly reformed and he took that small opening to deliver a slash of his own to Kisame's chest. It wasn't particularly deep but it did take the Akatsuki member by surprise.

"I see Orochimaru is up to his experimenting again if your body can do that now." Kisame said with an intrigued grin.

"That's not all I can do!" Suigetsu said as his body seemingly dissolved and he merged with the water on the roof. The water began to surge and twist as Suigetsu controlled it as an extension of his body. A large wave of water surged up and flew towards Kisame. Kisame jumped into the air and performed another water jutsu.

"**Water bullet!**" He said as he spat out high velocity spheres of water. However every ball of water was simply absorbed into the twisting wave of water that was Suigetsu. A tendril of water wrapped around Kisame's leg and began to twirl him around in the air.

"Still think I'm weak Kisame?!" Suigetsu shouted as his upper body formed out of the water to glare at his captive.

"**Lightening Fang!**"

Suigetsu turned as he saw twin surges of lightening shoot into the air. The sky began to darken as lightning bolts slammed into the roof top. Suigetsu cried out in pain as he was electrocuted. He couldn't hold his form any longer and retook his human body. He was burnt in many places and was deeply hurt. He had released his hold on Kisame and the Akatsuki member was not moving from the position he had been flung to. Kisame had also been hit by the lightning bolts as he was still connected to Suigetsu and as all know, water conducts electricity. Suigetsu kneeled on the ground in pain. He turned as he saw Raiga standing over him.

"This battle is between men not boys! Kisame is mine to kill! Be gone Suigetsu, though I thank you for injuring him. **Lightening style: Lightening Dragon Tornado Jutsu!**" He shouted. Suddenly, wind and electricity began to swirl around him. Soon a giant dragon of wind and lightening appeared and rushed towards Suigetsu. The injured ninja jumped out of the way of the jaws but lightening blots shots out of the dragon's body and hit him. Suigetsu cried out in agony once again as his was soon paralyzed. The dragon came around again and took Suigetsu in its jaws. Suigetsu was effectively trapped. He had never really learned to use any jutsu after he had been given his water controlling body. He couldn't use that very ability now as the dragon's lightening abilities would have caused him even more pain then he was already feeling. Suigetsu found himself trapped in the dragon and continually shocked. He could feel himself losing consciousness and soon went limp in the dragon.

"That's one annoyance taken care of. Still I'll be sure to give him a proper burial." Raiga said to himself as he canceled his jutsu and watched as Suigetsu fell off of the roof to crash into the streets below. He looked towards Kisame and wasn't surprised to see the shark like man already on his feet and in a relaxed pose.

"That was a particularly brutal move, especially against your ally. I'm actually impressed Raiga. I didn't think you had what it took, though that doesn't change the fact that now that he is gone you won't last even a few minutes against me." Kisame said as he grabbed Samehada with two hands. Kisame knew it was time to stop playing around. They had been lucky so far in that with the battles still taking place all over the village, they had yet to be discovered as the attackers and defenders were already preoccupied. However, Kisame was smart enough to see that this wouldn't last and eventually someone would figure out what was going on. While he loved a great fight, he didn't have time to battle so many ninja at once.

'I can't lose this battle.' Raiga thought as Kisame charged him. He raised his swords though his right arm would only move so much. The pain from the earlier wound given to him by Samehada was affecting him. This was the very reason it had taken him so long to attack earlier. He couldn't create hand signs as fast as before with his right arm heavily damaged. Raiga attacked as well as he and Kisame traded blows with their blades. Raiga was quickly put on the defensive and he was having a very hard time keeping up. Kisame's blows were too powerful to block so he had to dodge them. Every one of his attacks was halted however and whenever he tried to run lightening through his blades, Samehada would simply absorb the chakra and render the action a waste of chakra. Samehada's ability to eat chakra was very frustrating. Riage soon realized that he was at a severe disadvantage.

Kisame continued to attack viscously as he realized that Raiga was weakening. Like a predator seeing his prey ready to be killed, he increased his attacks and began to slash and tear at Raiga's body.

'I can't lose now! I won't fall here!' Raiga thought as he took a brutal kick to the side that snapped a rib. He was thrown back and coughed up blood. He slowly got to his feet and was immediately punched in the face by Kisame. The shark man was greatly enjoying himself. It seemed that Raiga had been far too quick in getting rid of Suigetsu. He had believed that his own strength would have been enough to take on Kisame, he was wrong.

"I won't lose to you Kisame! I have a promise to keep!" Raiga shouted as he shot a bolt of lightning at Kisame. Kisame raised his blade and watched as the chakra enforced attack was absorbed into his sword.

"A promise? I'm afraid that you won't be keeping any more promises ever again Raiga!" Kisame said with a gleeful smile as he prepared to charge once again.

Raiga wanted to retort but his injured shoulder flared up and he fell to his knees. Pure adrenalin had been keeping him fighting up until this point but the pain of his injuries was catching up to him.

'Ranmaru. I will not fail you again.' Raiga thought as he forced himself to his feet.

Ranmaru was a young child that Raiga had met while he was still a loyal member of the hidden mist village. The child had been disabled since birth and was unable to move. A couple of villagers had taken pity on the poor orphan and feed him occasionally. However that all changed when it was revealed that Ranmaru had a kekkei genki. During this time, the blood line purges were running rampant through the mist village and the villagers had reported the boy's abilities to the authorities. Raiga had been dispatched to kill the boy by order of the Mizukage. Raige however found himself incapable of killing the soft spoken and sickly boy. He wasn't sure why but the weak child touched something inside the otherwise cold bloodied killer and Raiga picked the child up and carried him around for a bit. He was still thinking about killing Ranmaru but wanted the child to at least see the village he lived in before his end. However, Ranmaru was overjoyed that Raiga was showing him what lay outside of his cottage. The boy's gleeful smile and carefree laughter was too much for the legendary swordsmen and he found that he simply couldn't kill the child. This hadn't gone over well with the Mizukage who ordered both Ranmaru and Raiga to be executed. Raiga took the child and fled the village.

'Where are we going to go?' Ranmaru had asked him while he was running from the village in the dead of night.

'Where ever we want. You did want to see the world didn't you Ranmaru. Well I'm going to show you as much as I can.' Raiga stated to the child.

They had eventually settled in a small village. It was a self sufficient village that used a nearby mine to make its profit. Raiga easily took over and became the leader. He had taken an oath to do whatever was necessary to ensure both his and Ranmaru's survival and anyone that he believed threatened their existence would be dealt with harshly. Raiga had made a decree that anyone discovered to be a traitor to him to be buried alive. While many believed this was because Raiga thought that funerals were beautiful functions that allowed people to forget the deceased actions and forgive them, the truth was that Raiga simply wanted them to suffer. He would do anything for Ranmaru and anyone who put the boy's life in jeopardy would die a slow and lonely death beneath the earth.

Everything had been going fine until a few mist anbu had discovered their position. Raiga had been able to fight them off but not before one had destroyed the cottage that housed Ranmaru, causing the rubble to collapse on the small boy. Raiga had gone into a rage and rushed into the debris desperate the find Ranmaru. He found the small boy just as the life was fading form his eyes. Despite everything that had happened Ranmaru had smiled at him and thanked him for showing him the world. Ranmaru had died with a smile on his face, in the arms of the man that was like a father to him. Raiga had buried Ranmaru on a cliff overlooking the land they had lived in for months. He left the village and never looked back.

He wandered the land for a time before he was confronted by an agent of Orochimaru. How the man found him Raiga had no clue but he had offered Raiga a chance to join Orochimaru's forces. Orochimaru was always on the lookout for strong ninja and had heard about Raiga's defection and discovery. The snake sannin himself appeared to Raiga after he had refused Orochimaru's messenger and promised that should Raiga serve him that he would raise Ranmaru from the grave and return the boy that was like a son to him. Raiga didn't trust the snake sannin but he had no chose. His life had become an empty shell without Ranmaru and he desperately wanted the boy back. All Orochimaru asked of him was to perform a simple task for him and that was to aid in the destruction of Konoha.

'I will not die here! I will fulfill my promise and show you the world Ranmaru.' He thought as he got to his feet. He knew he was not as strong as Kisame but the man was standing between him and his son. He would use his full strength to kill him.

"**Lightening Strike Armor Jutsu!**" He shouted as he began to spin his blades. They were soon surrounded by electricity that flowed around his body. He charged the stunned Kisame and slashed him in the chest. He followed up by kicking the shark man away from him and shooting out two bolts of electricity. Kisame was shocked by the attacks as lightening was his elemental weakness. He continued to dodge Raiga's furious assault as the enraged ninja actually put his swords together by the hilt to form one long blade.

"This is the end!" Raiga shouted as he stabbed the blade deeply into Kisame's chest. Kisame cried out in pain as volts of electricity ran through his body.

'I did it!' Raiga thought as the Kisame in front of him turned into water.

"Yes this ends now."

Raiga turned around only to see Samehada slash though his lightening armor. The sword quickly absorbed the chakra and left Raiga defenseless. He was then hit by a wave of water that broke a few of his ribs and sent him flying back. Raiga slowly got to his feet and shook his head to overcome his blurred vision.

'I cannot fail here!' he thought as he charged Kisame. The Akatsuki member simply stood his ground, his confident smirk never leaving his face. Raiga charged full speed towards him seeking to skewer the shark like man. However, Kisame gripped Samehada with both of his hands and slashed down. An explosion of debris erupted form the force applied to the roof top. When the smoke cleared Kisame stood over a stunned Raiga. His lightening fangs had broken under the force of the blow and Samehada had continued on to slice through his chest. Raiga looked down to his shredded chest and fell limply to the ground.

"Nice fight Raiga, but I got bored at the end of it. I decided that it was time to finally put you down beneath my feet where you belong." Kisame said with a laugh as he turned to exit the village. He could have waited for Itachi but he knew his partner could handle two weakened genin as well as a few Hyuga. Besides, Kisame could feel a few chakra signatures approaching and it wouldn't do for the leaf village to discover that the Akatsuki were present before they escaped with their captive.

Raiga was not yet dead. As his vision began to darken, he saw an image of a smiling Ranmaru in front of him. Raiga gave a smile of his own as the life drained from his body and he died. The last thought his mind was of the boy that was like a son to him.

'Ranmaru, I'm coming my son.'

**(Hokage's Moutain)**

Ino ducked behind a stone pillar that made up a part of the hair of the Yondamie's face on the Hokage's Moutain. She had moved just in time to avoid having her head sliced off by Jugo's claws. She jumped back to avoid the deranged monster and joined up with Sakura who was hiding in the trees behind the Mountain top.

Despite their brave combined front in the hospital, the girls had quickly discovered that Jugo was far stronger than they. They were forced to flee the confined hospital and sought a larger battle field. They moved towards the Hokage's mountain as it was close and provided many places that they could hide and attack from. Ino and Sakura jumped to avoid a piston punch from Jugo that smashed through the tree they were on.

"How are we going to stop this guy?" Ino muttered as she watched Temari and Tenten work in tandem to bring down the rampaging beast that was Jugo. Temari's wind techniques had been enough to save both her and Sakura's life many times already. While the wind jutsus were strong enough to blow Jugo back they didn't cause enough damage to bring him down permanently. Tenten would throw all manner of weapons at Jugo but the crazed man would shrug off the blows and just cackle with mad glee.

"This so much fun!" Jugo shouted in glee as he rushed forward and back handed Temari. The sand mistress flew back and was caught in the air by Sakura. Ino threw three kunai that had explosive notes attached to them. The resulting explosions didn't hurt Jugo but it did disorient him long enough for the girls to rush deeper into the wooded area behind the mountain and regroup. They ran through the trees until they came upon a small waterfall and pond. Temari jumped out of Sakura's arms and rubbed her tender chest. Jugo's blow hadn't broken anything but that was only because it had been a glancing blow. Had it been at full strength she wasn't sure she would still be alive.

"Okay does anyone have an idea of how we are going to beat this guy? It's like nothing affects him." Tenten growled out in frustration.

"At least you and Temari can fight him. My mind techniques aren't developed enough to hurt him nor am I strong enough to go in his mind and control his body." Ino said in annoyance at her weakness. Sakura cringed as well as she had only been able to run from Jugo just like Ino. No matter what kind of genjutsu she tried to use from her limited arsenal, none packed a big enough punch to hold him for more than a few seconds. His chakra was far too strong for her low level techniques. Had she been like Kurenai and knowledgeable in a multitude of genjutsu then she may have been a bigger help.

"We've got to think of something. He'll be here soon and we need a plan." Temari said as she could already hear Jugo breaking down trees in his pursuit of them.

"Anyone got an idea?" Sakura asked as she tried to catch her breath.

"I may have one. My mind jutsus aren't enough to control him but maybe I'll be able to get inside his mind and find a weakness." Ino said a bit hesitantly.

"Are you crazy?! You want to go inside the mind of that thing? You'll be killed." Sakura said to her best friend.

"Do you have a better idea?" Ino shot back.

"No but what you're talking about is suicide." Sakura retorted as the two former rivals faced off once again.

"Arguing isn't going to help us any." Tenten said as she pulled out a large spiked mace.

"Here he comes." Temari said as she opened her fan and jumped back as Jugo broke through the trees.

Temaru swung her fan and blew the deranged monster back. Jugo quickly righted himself and shot towards her once again as he perceived Temari to be the most dangerous. His arm morphed into an axe and he attempted to split her down the middle as he had the Hyuga member before. Tenten was there, however, and smashed him in the face with her mace. The blow didn't hurt him but it was enough to force him to break off his attack on the wind mistress. Ino placed her hands together and prepared her mind transfer jutsu. However Sakura quickly grabbed her friend's hands and forced her to stop.

"You can't do this Ino! He's mind is far too chaotic. There's a chance you won't make it out." Sakura said to her.

"Don't you think I know that?! But I couldn't help Choji-kun at all while he was being beaten within an inch of his life earlier. I refuse to be that weak ever again." Ino said with a fierce look on her face.

'I know just how she feels.' Sakura said as she slowly released Ino.

Their conversation left them vulnerable and they failed to realize that Jugo had broken off of his attacks on Tenten and Temari and was racing towards them.

"Look out!" Temari shouted as she tried to race after Jugo. Ino and Sakura looked up and were too shocked at seeing Jugo's huge fists coming right at them. They didn't have time to move.

"**Ice wall Jutsu!**"

A large wall of ice appeared directly in front of Jugo and instead of smashing through the girls' skulls he smashed through the wall, giving Ino and Sakura time to leap out of the way. All four girls looked back and saw Haku standing on the small pond.

"Haku! Where have you been?" Sakura asked in relief as well as confusion.

Haku didn't reply as she unsealed her giant sword and leapt to combat Jugo. The girls were shocked by Haku's actions. They knew that charging against Jugo was suicide. However, they were equally surprised when Haku disappeared in a puddle of water when Jugo struck her. The water instantly rose up and froze Jugo from his legs to his neck. It was obvious that it wouldn't hold him for long but was all the time the real Haku needed as she rose up from the pond's depths. Haku took Zabuza's blade and hurled it with all of her strength. The blade pierced through Jugo's chest the moment he broke through his icy prison. He flew back and was pinned to a tree as the long blade went through his chest to sink deeply into the trunk of the tree.

"Sorry for being so late." Haku said as she walked over to the girls who by now were still stunned at the combo attack that had seemingly stopped the rampaging juggernaut.

Haku had been delayed as she had left the hospital to battle the invaders. She had gotten a warning buzz from her insect which normally meant that Shino was in danger. She went back to the hospital only to see the bodies of the dead Hyuga as well as Karin's whimpering form. She had quickly knocked Karin out and tied her up as she went to check on the boys. All were fine though only Shino knew what the commotion was about. She had told them to call for backup as she followed the trail to the battle.

"Better late than never." Tenten said with a smirk as she gave a sigh of relief.

"HAHA! This is so much fun!"

The girls all turned and stared in shock as Jugo continued to gleefully smile at them, despite the large blade that had to have punctured a multitude of organs.

"I always thought women were too weak to give me any entertainment but you have all been great! It's going to make my killing you all the sweeter!" Jugo said as his body began to change once again.

"T-That's not possible!" Temari shouted in outrage and disbelief.

Jugo's body finished changing and his appearance was even more fearsome than before. Jugo's skin had become dark with black sclera in the eyes. His elbows had sharp edgings, his nails had sharpened, he grew horns on the top of his head that extended to his cheeks, and on his back were what appeared to be six jet boosters like appendages that were releasing fire. He pulled out Haku's sword and hurled it back at her. All the girls fell to the ground as the blade went over their heads and sliced through a multitude of trees behind them.

Jugo said nothing as he was now beyond thought. In his second curse sealed stage, Jugo was completely taken over by his madness and blood lust. He rushed forward with speed that none of the girls could follow.

Temari, being a wind user, was able to felt the subtle shift in wind pressure and had a split second to react before she ducked, avoiding a high powered punch that would have taken her head off. He whipped her fan towards Jugo's head and connected solidly. However, the demented ninja moved not an inch as he grabbed her fan and ripped it from her grasp. He smashed the heavy weapon into her chest, cracking her ribs and launching her back. Sakura rushed to protect her until she felt a chill run up her spine. She turned around to see Jugo behind her with his demonic smile as he grabbed her around the throat he delivered a light back hand to her cheek that sent her flying as she smashed into a tree and was immediately knocked out. Tenten was shocked at the speed that her comrades had been defeated. She pulled out her scrolls and launched every last weapon she had at Jugo. The behemoth was unfazed even as he was sliced, stabbed and skewered by all manner of weapons. Once the deadly hail ended he unleashed a burst of chakra that shot the weapons out of his body. He looked down to his healing body and gave a small demented snicker as he shot towards Tenten. Tenten was defenseless and could do nothing as Jugo pulled his arm back and prepared to smash her skull in.

Jugo stopped as several senbon entered his arm. He looked down at the small needles and looked up at Haku. Ino was currently attempting to awaken Sakura and pull the injured Temari to safety. Jugo howled in anger at Haku for interrupting his fun and rushed towards the ice wielder.

"**Crystal ice mirrors Jutsu!**" Haku shouted as the water from the river swirled around Haku and formed into a dome of mirrors. Haku jumped into one and her image appeared on each and every one of them and prepared to attack Jugo. Jugo leapt and smashed one of the mirrors as if it was made of paper. Haku was not very surprised considering how strong Jugo was but she didn't despair. She attacked Jugo again and again. Her speed had always been great with this jutsu but she had been refining her skills and not even the sharingan could fully follow her movements anymore. Jugo growled in anger as he smashed multiple mirrors only to watch as they swiftly reformed. Despite the fact that he could smash them, as long as there was a source of water close by, the mirrors could be reformed an endless number of times. Haku was attempting to slowly wear Jugo out.

However, the originator of the curse seal had other plans in mind. He couldn't catch Haku as she was now faster than him. Crushing one mirror at a time was a waste of time as well. So his demented mind came up with a simple as quick solution. The jet booster like appendages on his back multiplied and moved to point all around his body.

'What is he up to?' Haku thought as she continued to launch senbon after senbon at him.

Her question was answered when the ports began to gather chakra. Haku's eyes widened as she realized what was coming and she leapt out of the mirror she was in and rushed to the other girls just as Jugo unleashed a concentrated chakra blast. The blast was so massive that uprooted trees and left a wide crater at the epicenter, where Jugo was residing. He leapt up and looked to see how many pieces his prey had been blown into. He was surprised to see all the girls in once piece. Haku had run in front of the other girls and formed a wall of ice from nearly all of the water in the river she could pull to her in the seconds before Jugo's attack. The wall of ice was extremely thick and had still been blown to pieces. However, it had been enough to save their lives.

Jugo walked over to the downed girls. Though they still lived, they were still caught by a small portion of the blast and were in little shape to hurt him anymore. Though beyond thought or any real emotion other than rage, anger, blood lust, he did feel something close to regret that his fun was over. He walked over to the first downed girl who just happened to be Haku. Haku was knocked out from the blast. She had used most of her chakra to keep the shield steady and had passed out from chakra exhaustion soon after. Jugo decided that she would die first.

Ino watched as Jugo stood over Haku's prone form. She looked over but saw that no one was in any position to help the ice user. Tenten was weaponless and injured. Sakura was still knocked out from Jugo's earlier blow. Temari had murder in her eyes at the cursed man but her broken ribs and battered body made any movement impossible at the moment.

'I've got to do something.' Ino thought as she watched Jugo pick Haku up.

'Here goes nothing.' Ino thought as she placed her hands in a special seal.

"**Mind Transfer Jutsu.**" Ino called out as she launched her very soul and mind into Jugo's body.

Ino's use of her family's prized jutsu was slightly different than before. She had learned her lesson after trying to take over Jirobo's mind. She knew that Jugo was at a completely different level then her in terms of strength and power. However, she wasn't going to try and overwhelm his mind. That would have been suicide simply because he was so insane in the first place. Her father had always warned her about how she must respect their blood line. To enter into another's mind and body was to be subject to their control. Unless the subject's mind was overwhelmed, the Yamanaka would be subject to the whims of the victim. Ino had decided that instead of trying to overcome his mind and take control of his body she would instead try to move around in his mind and find some way to defeat him. In her opinon it would be like jumping into a river that had a strong current. Trying to swim against the current was useless and wouldn't work. However, she would instead allow the current to take her along and would slowly try and make subtle movements through his memories and find out what she wanted to know. This was incredibly dangerous and the chances of her dying were very high.

'Still, we're all dead anyway if this doesn't work.' Ino thought as her vision darkened and she entered Jugo's mind.

**(Jugo's mind)**

Ino opened her eyes and found herself in a swirling vortex of darkness. All around her were sensations, feelings, and memories that seemed to move and mix together as if they were completely separate from one another yet whole at the same time. It was dark, it was never ending and it was pure chaos. She had never heard of such a thing taking place in a person's mind before. Her father had been in many minds from the purest of children to the most deranged ninja. However he had always said that no matter what they may have been like, their minds had some underlining element that served as the template from which their mind worked. In some cases he had told her that he had come across a corridor where each door held either a memory or a strong emotion tied to a memory. No matter what, he had said, no mind can exist without something keeping it together and running smoothly even if the person was insane.

Ino was stunned. No matter what she tried, she could find nothing that could be considered a stable structure in Jugo's mind. There didn't seem to be a beginning or an end to the chaos. What was worse was that the dark and painful emotions running through Jugo's mind was beginning to taint her.

'Be very very careful my daughter.' Her father had told her once. 'If you do not stay strong than the mind that you are in may overpower your own and instead of you influencing them, they will influence you. Should this happen, you will never be able to return to your body. You will be trapped and forever remain as a part of their mental reality.'

Ino clutched her head as the dark thoughts and powerfully evil emotions began to overtake her body. She screamed at the pain it caused her. It felt as if darkness was slowly encompassing her. She felt the icy, bone chilling cold spreading through her and her screams soon petered off as he eyes began to dull and take on a lifeless stare to them. Ino felt as if she was drowning. She couldn't hold on any longer and she began to feel her mental body dissipate and slowly become a part of Jugo. Before Ino's gaze completely darkened, she saw something. It was a speck of pure white amongst the pitch black background.

'W-what is that?' She thought tiredly. She slowly began to move towards it but the darkness was still calling out to her. She felt her legs disappear and swirl into the darkness of Jugo's mind. However, the rest of her body continued to float towards the white light that seemed pure and completely harmless. Soon her torso began to fade and she stretched out her right arm as she felt the rest of her body beginning to fade. Right before she was completely taken by Jugo's mind, she felt a hand grab her and pull her to safety.

The bright light surrounded Ino as she opened her eyes and found herself in a beautiful forest. Her body was once again whole and she got to her feet and walked around. It was very peaceful and she walked until she came to a beautiful pond. The water was crystal blue like the sky above her head and a few fish even swam in it.

"Hello."

Ino turned around and was stunned to be facing a calm and normal looking Jugo. He had a small bird on his shoulder which was chirping happily. She was at first frightened as she believed him to be a mental representation of the rampaging beast, but in his eyes she could only see serenity and peace.

"Who are you?" Ino asked.

"I am Jugo."

"Oookay then why aren't you attacking me?" Ino asked, still very confused.

"I hate violence. I don't want to hurt anyone." Jugo replied as he held out his hand and the small bird happily landed on it.

"You hate violence? Then why are you attacking me and my friends like some deranged maniac?" She asked in frustration.

"I'm not." Jugo answered calmly.

"Yes you are! Right now you're about to kill one of my friends!" Ino yelled at the infuriatingly calm Jugo.

"I am not the one doing this. It is the other me." Jugo said as the bird flapped its winds to fly away.

"The other you?" Ino asked not understanding.

"Yes the one you and your friends are fighting is the other me. The side of me that knows nothing but how to kill and destroy." Jugo said in a tone that was both sad and depressed.

"Wait you have a split personality?" Ino asked as Jugo simply nodded in response. Ino knew all about split personalities. Coming from a family that specialized in the mind, she was very familiar with most mental conditions. It was taught to all Yamanaka children before they began learning the clan jutsus so that they would be prepared for the kind of minds they may one day have to enter. A split personality meant that that there were literally two separate Jugos, the peaceful man before her and the deranged monster currently in control of the body.

Ino's eyes suddenly widened as she finally understood what was going on. There was a reason that this forest was amidst the darkness in Jugo's mind. The one thing that brought any sort of unity to this mindscape was Jugo's better half. The peaceful man, whether he knew it or not was the prime personality and he was keeping the mindscape working. This gave Ino a plan.

"If you say that you don't want to hurt anyone then why are you allowing your evil side to reign? I can tell that you are a good man with a good heart so why are you allowing this to happen?" Ino asked.

"I have no choice. My other side is more powerful than me. Once the urge to kill comes from it I can do nothing but retreat here and allow it to have its fun until it is either bored as it has killed everything in the immediate vicinity or until someone comes along who is able to restrain the beast." Jugo said as he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Ino asked.

"To rest beneath my favorite tree." Jugo said simply.

Ino raced after him and found him just where he said he would be. He was sitting under a large and beautiful cherry blossom tree. A few birds flew around him and would occasionally land on the peaceful giant.

"I know that you aren't a violent man. This forest shows that much about you. However, how can you just allow your other side to do whatever it wants? You are the dominate personality and you should be able to control your body, despite what your other side wants you to do." Ino said firmly, still trying to reason with Jugo. She knew that Jugo peaceful side was exactly the weakness she needed to exploit to save herself and her friends.

"I can't. Ever since I was young and learned about my curse, I have been unable to stop it from emerging and killing others. No matter what I did, it inevitably won and took over. As the years came and went I decided that the only way to protect others was to isolate myself. I wandered the lands avoiding everyone I could until I met Orochimaru-sama. The beast within me attempted to attack him. However Orochimaru-sama was able to quiet the beast with a simple stare and flash of killing intent. This was the first time I had ever come across another who could actually force the beast to retreat. I pleaded with him to allow me to continue to follow him so that the beast would remain silent within me." Jugo said as he closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the peace around him.

Ino was very intrigued about this gentle giant's past and sat down to continue to listen. At first she was only concerned with finding a weakness of his to exploit and leaving, but there was something about Jugo that made her want to listen more and find out what his life was like. As the heir to the Yamanaka clan, she had never been without love and affection and approval. Jugo's tale interested her greatly.

"Go on." Ino said.

Jugo looked at the girl for a moment in surprise. He wasn't used to people actually caring anything about him or his past. Still it felt nice to have someone to talk to, even if he couldn't help her or her friends. He decided that he would tell her his past then help her escape his mind. There was little more he could do for her.

"Orochimaru-sama was a very busy man. He agreed to allow me to travel with him but he couldn't be there for me at all times. I remember a time when he left me suddenly and a group of strange ninja immediately attacked me. The beast emerged and slaughtered them ruthlessly. When I came to my senses Orochimaru-sama was there and had a look of approval in his eyes. He told me that I shouldn't fear my other side nor should I try to control it. I had never had anyone tell me such a thing as most ran for their lives once they knew who I was and what I could do. I then dedicated my life to Orochimaru-sama and would do anything for him. However, I couldn't stay in his village as he couldn't be around me forever, nor was there anyone who could tame the beast within as he could. I was sent to a private lab where I could be restrained and kept away from others. Orochimaru-sama was very intrigued by my power and would come once in a while to draw some of my blood and experiment with it. It was then that I met my best friend Kimimaro. He too was born a killer and we understood one another. Kimimaro told me that his purpose in life was to serve Orochimaru-sama until the day he died as he was the one to give Kimimaro's existence meaning. I loved it when my friend came as he wasn't afraid of my evil side and would wait until the beast retreated back within me before we continued to talk. I heard about my friend's death at the hands of one of your comrades when Orochimaru-sama came to retrieve me. He told me that he was in need of my services and that he would find a way to permanently silence the beast should I succeed in my mission." Jugo said as his eyes took on a pained look. He was upset at the death of his friend, but he was also upset at having to take the lives of others.

"Do you hate us for what happened to your friend?" Ino asked a bit hesitantly.

"No. Kimimaro never held grudges and neither do it. It is simply the world we live in. I am sorry but our time is up. You should leave now and flee as soon as you return to your own body." Jugo said softly. He didn't really want her to go. He was enjoying their conversation.

"I can't do that! You other side is about to kill all my friends and you want me to simply run away and leave them to die?! If you hate killing so much then stop your other side! You have the power to do it. My clan specializes in the mind and I can tell you this, this mind is held together because of you. That dark chaos that surrounds this forest is only stable because you subconsciously keep it all together. You're stronger than you think Jugo. If you want to take control then you can do it!" Ino said as she shouted and pleaded with the man. He was their only hope.

"I am sorry but I am not strong enough. I do wish that I could stop the beast but it is simply more powerful than I am. I wish someone else would come who could calm the beast." Jugo said sadly.

"That's your problem right there! You keep waiting for someone else to take the burden and do what you need to do! That's being selfish. You can't always rely on others to do things for you. You need to stand on your own two feet and take control of your life!" Ino asserted. Jugo looked at her for a long time. All the while Ino prayed that he would listen.

"I am sorry." Jugo said sadly as he raised a hand and Ino was propelled out of his mind.

**(Battle Field)**

Ino opened her eyes and inhaled a gasp of air. She looked around to reorient herself and winced at the pain in her body. That was thing about leaving and returning to an injured body. The pain always hit hard. She looked up and saw that practically no time had passed since she entered Jugo's mind. The beast was clutching Haku around the throat and was preparing to break her neck.

"Hey!" Ino shouted out as she struggled to her feet. The beast looked at her and tilted its head to the side as if trying to figure out what she wanted and the best way to rip her apart.

"How about fighting someone that isn't defenseless you coward?!" Ino shouted as the beast slowly allowed Haku to fall. It would kill them all later but it wanted the one that still had a little fight in it. Killing beaten foes was boring to it.

Ino got to her feet and ran as fast as she could away from the beast and her friends. The beast allowed her to run. It was going to have fun with this one before it killed her and the rest of them. Ino ran until she was forced to stop due to her injuries. Nothing felt broken but she hurt everywhere and leaned against a tree. She felt something moving around her and looked to her right to see the demented smirk of Jugo, no more than a few feet away from her. Her heart stopped at the speed of the beast and she quickly ran in the other direction, seeking safety. The beast once again appeared in front of her and held its hand inches from her face. She could see one of the jet boosters on its palm, it was already charging up with chakra.

Ino froze in absolute terror as the beast's smirk evolved into a full smile. It loved when its victims were overcome with the fear of futility and realized that they were going to die no matter what they tried. It was always an enjoyable look to the beast and its favorite thing to see. However before it could blow Ino away it was hit with a fairly powerful blow to the side of the head that sent it reeling back. Ino looked up and was shocked to see Shizune, the Hokage's assistant standing where Jugo had been previously.

"Shizune-san?" Ino said in shock.

"I heard that large blast earlier and decided to investigate." Shizune said as Ino saw the rest of the girls walking or limping towards them. It seemed that Shizune had found them first and had at least partially healed them. Temari was still holding her ribs tenderly and Sakura and Tenten looked to be slightly dazed. Haku was the worst as she still seemed to be very low on chakra and she had trouble standing up straight.

"How did you do that? No matter what we threw at him he just kept getting back up." Ino said referring to Shizune's earlier blow.

"Well I am Tsunade-sama's apprentice." Shizune said as she prepared herself. She knew that Jugo wasn't beaten just yet.

"I want you all to head back to the village. I'll hold him off." Shizune said as Jugo reappeared. He gave a low growl at this new assailant.

"No way! We're not going to leave you to fight him alone that's suicide!" Ino shouted as the other girls nodded in agreement.

"None of you are in any shape to face an opponent like this. Obey my orders and leave!" Shizune shouted as Jugo attacked.

Shizune jumped back as Jugo's fist smashed into the ground. Shizune retaliated with a right hook at snapped Jugo's head to the side. However, he quickly shook off the blow and attacked Shizune once again. Shizune used all of her extensive knowledge in evasion to avoid the claws and blades that were sprouting out of Jugo's body randomly. She jumped back and ran through hand signs.

"**Ninja art: Poison Fog!**" She shouted as she breathed out a purple cloud of poison. Jugo ran right into the mist and wasn't stopped at all. The cursed energy coursing through his body broke down the poison before it could harm him. Shizune launched senbon at key places on his body seeking to hit his pressure points and if not stop him at least slow him down. She was dismayed when neither happened. Jugo's twisted smile slowly grew as he noticed that the new female was running out of energy. Unlike himself, she didn't have a nearly endless supply of chakra and Shizune had been fighting the invaders long before she began to engage Jugo. She couldn't keep up with Jugo for much longer and they both knew it.

Jugo broke through her defense and sent a sharp blade that grew from his forearm through Shizune's shoulder. She cried out as he lifted her in the air and hit her in the sternum with a savage punch. She spit out blood as she was sent into a tree and slowly fell to the ground. Jugo was not going to let up and decided that he would take out Shizune immediately. He was tired of playing around and wanted to kill the girls and go on to new enemies to kill.

Jugo's arms transformed into two large axes and he rushed forward to cleave Shizune in two. However, he never made it as he was hit by a large burst of wind that sent him flying back. He turned to look for what had hit him but didn't see anything. He turned back to his fallen prey but Shizune had also disappeared. He howled in fury and began to search for them. He was hit in the back by a lance and growled out in anger at the shallow wound. He pulled the lance out and snapped it. He still couldn't see anyone. Soon a thick mist began to spread over the land.

Jugo was becoming more and more enraged at the obstacles coming between him and his prey. He ran through the mist, smashing through trees and anything else that got in his way, looking for his prey. He was continually hit by weapons, wind, and ice jutsus and while none particularly hurt, they were hindrances. He saw a shadow moving through the mist and instantly shot out to attack the shadow. He saw that it was the pink haired girl and he swiftly swung his axe arm though her body. He was angered when she was nothing but an illusion. He was hit with a powerful kick that sent him through a tree. Jugo got up and howled in fury at the trouble he was having.

Some distance away the girls were huddled together as Shizune reappeared by their side. Haku was kneeling as she tried to catch her breath. Their current tactic was to use guerilla warfare to win. Haku had taken a food pill to increase her chakra momentarily and had activated the hidden mist jutsu. She also used her mastery of the silent killing skill to continually pinpoint Jugo's position. She would then create an ice mirror and take on or two of the girls with her and teleport to another mirror close to Jugo's position. The girls would attack quickly then rejoin Haku to move through the mirrors once again to escape before Jugo could find them. It was an ingenious move that Temari had thought up. However, it wouldn't last for much longer as Haku couldn't keep up the strain for much longer. Even food pills had their limit as did Shizune's healing jutsus. The only real cure for chakra exhaustion was to rest. As Jugo was showing no signs of wearing down they needed something to help them win.

"There's got to be something we can do. He can't have a limitless supply of energy. He's been burning of so much since the start of this fight that he must be running low." Tenten said as she held a few weapons she had been able to grab before their implemented their plan.

"I doubt he'll run out of chakra before Haku does. Once that happens we'll be sitting ducks." Sakura said.

"I can keep going for as long as we need." Haku said softly though the others could see that she was ready to pass out at any moment. Another indicator of this was that the mist was beginning to fade.

"I say we hit him with everything we have and hope for the best. If we cause him enough damage then he may be forced to return to his previous state of mind." Temari said as she held her fan.

"There's no way that he'll stay still long enough. You've seen how he's acting now. He's done playing around with us. He's going to go for the kill as fast as he can and none of us aside from Shizune-san can keep up with him." Ino said.

"Someone will have to distract him and keep him in place long enough for the others to strike." Shizune said grimly. They all looked at one another knowing that whoever went would most likely not survive.

"I am the eldest thus I will be the one to do it." Shizune said.

"No it can't be you. You, Temari, Tenten, and Haku are the only ones who have any offensive attacks." Sakura said.

"I'll do it." Ino said resolutely.

"What? No way am I going to let you do that!" Sakura said.

"You said it yourself Sakura. It can't be any of the others as they will be needed to attack him." Ino said to her long time rival and friend.

"Then why does it have to be you. I'm the only one here who is well and truly useless at this point." Sakura said in self pity. It was true enough that she and Ino were the only ones that hadn't really contributed very much since the beginning of the battle. Sakura had sworn as she saw Lee's broken body after his battle with Kimimaro that she would never be useless again and yet she once again found herself relying on others to fight for her. It made her sick and she would do anything to protect her friends even if it meant her death.

"You're not going out there Sakura. This is my job to do." Ino said firmly.

"And why does it fall to you Ino?" Sakura asked harshly.

Ino didn't respond. She turned and began to walk away. Sakura grabbed her arm and refused to let go.

"If you're so adamant about going then I'm going with you. Maybe with both of there we will be able to make it out alive." Sakura said.

"Fine then let's go." Ino said as she and Sakura ran off into the mist to find Jugo.

"I guess there's nothing else to do but wait." Tenten said after a moment of silence.

"I pray they watch each other's backs." Shizune said as the four of them began to converse about how they were going to go about fighting Jugo.

Sakura and Ino ran towards Jugo's position. It was easy enough to discover where he was as the behemoth was still rampaging and smashing through anything that got in his way to try and find the girls.

"You ready for this forehead?" Ino said with a smirk.

"You better believe it pig." Sakura teased back.

Both girls were scared out of their minds. The chances of them surviving this battle were slim at best. They could only hope to slow him down long enough for the others to bring him down. Ino threw a kunai with an explosive note at Jugo's back. The explosion stunned the deranged ninja and he turned to stare at them. At first he wondered if they too were clones but it was clear from their scent that they were indeed the girls he sought. He smiled and began to let loose a booming laugh. His rage had climbed to a level that he had never experienced before. He was going to kill them and he was going to do it slowly. He raced for them as they split off in two separate directions. Jugo didn't want to take the time to go after both so he shout out two chakra blasts from the jet booster like appendages on his arms. Ino was able to avoid the blast but Sakura was clipped by the beam which was still more than enough to send her to the ground in agony. Jugo was there instantly and ran towards her to finish her off.

Ino jumped in the way and grabbed Sakura's stunned body. She leapt away as Jugo slammed a fist in the ground. Ino was hit by some of the debris from the impact and she and Sakura were thrown back. Ino looked up as Jugo brought his axe like arm down and cleaved her in two. He smiled until she transformed into a log. He growled and decided that he had had enough. Soon jet booster appendages appeared all over his body. Chakra began to charge in each of them and with a thunderous cry he unleashed the chakra shockwave that leveled everything in the immediate vicinity.

He stood in the huge crater and was panting in exhaustion. Despite what he may have thought, he didn't have an unlimited amount of chakra. He was burning through his chakra at a fast rate and he was soon going to run out. However, he still had more than enough to finish off the girls, should he be able to find them. He looked around the devastated landscape. He had completely obliterated everything within a few yards around him. He looked around and saw a bit of pink in the distance. He stalked over and saw the unconscious for of Sakura. She was barely breathing and Jugo was ready to finally end the insect before him. He raised his hand and produced a blade from his palm. He stabbed down but was stopped when he felt a small punch to his back. He turned swiftly and struck, catching Ino across the chest. She cried out in pain at the deep wound and jumped back.

Jugo ran after her and kicked her in the chest. She cried out as she was sent back and rolled on the ground she couldn't get up in time as Jugo appeared and slammed his fist into her head sending her back into the ground. He wrapped his hands around her throat and began to slowly strangle her.

'I can't believe this is it.' Ino thought as she chocked. She felt that she had failed her friends and Sakura as well. The only reason she wasn't in the same condition as Sakura is because the pink haired girl had hurled her with all of her strength before she too was caught in the explosive blast. As Ino's sight began to darken, she noticed something strange. The grip on her throat began to lighten a bit. She looked up and saw that Jugo's eyes were beginning to change. They were flickering from their yellow tone back to the orange color that was Jugo's original eye color.

'What's going on?' Ino thought as she noticed Jugo's body freeze.

**(Jugo's mind)**

Jugo had been watching everything his alter-ego had been doing. He was always saddened by his evil side's actions but there was something even more troubling this time. He watched as the blonde haired girl continued to fight with her comrades despite just how out classed they were. They protected one another and fought together.

'They are weak apart but strong together. No matter what they refuse to quit despite the staggering odds against their being victorious. Why? Why do they continue to fight?' Jugo wondered as he watched his evil side continue to attack the girls. They found new and inventive ways to stay one step ahead of the beast that continually tried to kill them. Jugo couldn't help but wonder whether she had been right. He pondered this for a long time .Could he really restrain his evil side? Was he strong enough? He didn't know but he would never know unless he tried for himself. He saw that his other side held the blonde girl's life in its hands and knew that he had to do something very soon if he wanted her to live. She was the first person in a long time that talked to him and told him that he could take control. Even Kimimaro, his best friend, had agreed that only Orochiamru could save him and fix him. In his friend's mind, there was no one greater than Orochimaru and he told Jugo this many times.

'Don't worry about ever having to control your other side Jugo. Orochimaru-sama will take care of it. He can do anything and will keep your other side from harming others. You don't have to worry about anything, just allow Orochimaru-sama to take care of it.' Kimimaro had told him once, and for the first time, Jugo wondered whether his friend was actually wrong.

Jugo was a peaceful man and abhorred violence. It hurt his very spirit every time his other side got free and killed others. If that strange girl really could continue to fight then what was stopping him? Jugo slowly left his haven and entered the swirling darkness that made up his other side's mental state. He hated walking into the swirling madness and was tempted to turn around and forget the whole thing. However, the girl's blue eyes continued to haunt him with their determination and resolve. If she was willing to go that far to stop him then how much less could he give to stop himself? She said that he was the one that was in control. He simply had to seize it.

He concentrated and tried to regain control over his body. It wasn't easy as his other side was not feeling generous today and continued to strangle the girl. He refused to allow her to die, however. Jugo put everything he had to stop his other side and he could see and feel the chaos and madness beginning to settle down.

"**What do you think you're doing?!**" His other side snarled at him.

"I am taking control." Jugo said simply to the disembodied voice.

"**You're too weak! You have never been able to stop me before and you won't change that now! I am in control and there's nothing you can do to stop me!**"

"I disagree. This is my body and I have the final say in what it does and doesn't do." Jugo said as he continued to assert his control. It wasn't easy. It was like fighting against a strong current that was determined to swipe him away with it. Jugo fought on and continued to concentrate.

"**Stop you fool! No one, not even you will stop me from having my fun!**" His other side shouted as it tried to increase its hold.

"You sound afraid. I never thought I could fight against you but I will be victorious." Jugo said as he fell to his knees and continued to press on. The swirling darkness began to slowly recede as the forest that represented his own mind began to grow. It continued to expand as the darkness was forced back. It was a test of wills and Jugo was slowly but surely winning.

**(Battle Field)**

Ino watched as Jugo's body reeled back and began to thrash around in apparent agony as it clutched it's skull.

"Now!"

Ino turned to look as the others finally made their move. Shizune went first as she landed an uppercut launching Jugo into the air. She winced badly at the pain that was in her arms. Contrary to what she wanted the girls to believe, she wasn't as adept at using the super strength technique that was Tsunade's trade mark. While Shizune could perform it adequately, her chakra control wasn't as perfect as her sensei's. Thus her limbs always took a significant backlash every time she used the technique. She looked on as Temari leapt into the air above and unleashed her most powerful wind technique.

"**Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance!**" She shouted as she summoned her weasel and unleashed the technique. It blew Jugo towards the ground at high velocities and right towards their final move.

As Jugo hit the earth, Tenten leapt and threw kuani with chains attached to immobilize Jugo's body. This lead to Haku's involvement.

"**Ice style: Frozen spikes!**" She shouted as water flowed underneath Jugo's body and suddenly shot up in multiple spikes that went completely through the ninja.

Deciding to take no chances, Shizune quickly jumped in and hit Jugo with a double fist blow that created a crater under his body. All the girls jumped back as Tenten launched every last kunai she had remaining into the crater with all of the girls combined explosive notes to them. The explosion shot out of the crater like a column of fire.

"If he gets up from that then he really is unbeatable." Temari said as she let her fan drop and fell to her knees. Shizune as well as Tenten went to help her before Haku finally succumbed to her injuries and exhaustion and passed out. As the two went to check on them as well as Sakura, Ino had another destination in mind.

She jumped down the hole that had been made and at the bottom see could see an unmoving body. She slowly approached it as she was favoring her damaged body and looked at the now normal Jugo. He had returned to his normal state and looked horrible. There were holes riddled through his body and his was burned just about everywhere. Despite all of this, he had a smile on his face.

"T-thank you." Jugo said softly.

"For what?" Ino asked as tears began to form in her eyes. Jugo himself was a peaceful and nice man and had saved her life. She was sad that he had to die because of the entity that was in his body.

"For finally showing me that I could take control." Jugo said with a smirk.

"I'm sorry that it had to be this way." She said.

"I'm not. However, there is something I need you to do for me." Jugo said.

"What's that?" Ino asked.

"Kill me." Jugo said simply.

"W-what?" Ino asked in shock and confusion.

"Even now the damage to my body is repairable. My other side is trying its best to retake control and heal but I am currently holding him back which is why my body is not healing. Please you must end it and kill me before it retakes control." Jugo said in a pleading tone.

"I can't do that." Ino said softly. Were it his other side, she would have no problem killing him. However, she couldn't do it when the peaceful giant was in control of himself.

"You must or it will retake control and kill all you care for." Jugo said.

Ino looked down and saw a piece of metal that was a large piece of shrapnel from a kunai that Tenten had thrown. It was still sharp and would serve its purpose.

"I wanted to save you." Ino said softly.

"You already have." Jugo said as Ino struck. She buried the blade deeply into his chest striking his heart. Ino ignored the blood that sprayed from the wound and fell onto her wounded body as she was too busy blinking back tears from what she had done. It was the first time she had ever taken a life and to kill such a kind man was sure to keep her up for many nights to come.

'Finally, I may rest.' was Jugo last thought as he looked up towards the clear blue sky and saw a small bird fly by. He smiled softly as he closed his eyes for the last time and found peace.

**(end)**

**Here's chapter 54! Sorry it took so long but school is a serious pain in the butt. I hope you liked this chapter. Next time will show Naruto, Hinata, and Itachi finally meeting. What's going to happen? Will Itachi attempt to kill Naruto for killing Sasuke? What about the two Hyuga members that are trying to kill them?**

**That is a secret! Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

**(Konoha Hospital)**

Hinata and Naruto listened as the war outside of the hospital continued to wage on. Neither would be of much use in aiding their comrades. Naruto was not even close to being fully healed and Hinata was not prepared to leave Naruto by himself.

'I hope everyone is okay.' Naruto thought as he cursed his own weakness. He closed his eyes and settled back in his bed with a sigh of irritation.

Hinata looked at him and could understand his frustration. She too wanted to help but she was unsure of how much help she could be. Truth be told, she was also weary of leaving Naruto by himself. She wasn't sure why but she got the feeling that he was going to need her protection. She slowly traced his whiskered cheeks and she felt him relax against her.

They both looked to the door when they heard a knock. Hinata got out of bed and calmly walked towards the door. She opened the door and smiled at the doctor who was checking on Naruto. She knew that there had to be a swarm of patients arriving and was grateful that he would take the time to check up on Naruto.

"How are you two doing?" He asked as he went to check on Naruto.

"We're fine, though I wish that I was out there helping. Our village is under attack and here I am stuck in bed!" Naruto grumbled as the doctor checked his vitals and condition.

"We will be fine Uzumaki-san. The leaf village is strong and we will always survive. Trust in your comrades as they trust in you." The doctor said as he gave them both a kind smile and turned to leave.

"Arigato." Hinata said with a smile and small bow.

"Think nothing of it. You are both ninja of the leaf and protect us from harm. I should be the one thanking the both of you." He said as he left.

Hinata turned to return to Naruto's side before she heard another knock at the door. Confused as to why the doctor would return so quickly, Hinata opened the door and was shocked to be faced with two main branch Hyuga members.

"Hello Hinata-_sama_" the first said in mockery as a devious grin came to his face.

"What are you doing here?" Hinata asked, as the feeling she had been getting earlier began to return in full force. Something wasn't right here and she had a bad suspicion as to the reason for their presence.

"Your father has decided to finally take care of a glaring problem that has plagued our clan for some time now." The Hyuga said as he and his superior entered the room. Hinata backed away warily and stood in front of Naruto. Naruto could tell from the looks in their eyes that these two Hyuga hadn't come for a simple chat. They were there to hurt or more than likely kill them both. Naruto tried to move his body and once again flinched with pain. He would be of no use in the coming fight.

"Your father has decided that you and your little demon-boyfriend have been a stain on our clan for too long. We are here to remove that stain." The leader said as he finally spoke.

"Byakugan!" Hinata shouted as she fell into her battle stance. However, she was shocked when her eyesight remained unchanged. She looked towards the mirror hanging beside Naruto's bed and saw that her byakugan had not activated.

'My byakugan! I've lost it.' Hinata thought in despair as the two Hyuga smiled at her inability to use the clan's kekkei genkai. Hinata's hand went to her unmarked forehead as she finally realized that her Byakugan had been sealed away with her brief brush with death.

"It's only fitting that you lose the byakugan. It is only for a Hyuga to use and you are no longer a part of our clan. Your days of perverting our birthright is over!" The subordinate Hyuga said as he activated his Byakugan and attacked Hinata.

"Be careful Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted as he could only watch helplessly as his girlfriend fought off the male Hyuga.

Hinata jumped and avoided the palm strike from the Hyuga. She ducked under his follow up strike and was able to kick him in the chest. Without her Byakugan she wasn't sure where to send the burst of chakra that shot from her foot after the contact but it still had an effect as the male Hyuga coughed up blood and fell back.

"How dare you mix our style with that of another's?! You are truly a disgrace upon our clan!" He shouted as he attacked again.

However, even without her Byakugan, Hinata was holding her own. The problem with the Hyuga fighting style was its predictability. Hinata knew every move that he was going to make as she recognized the kata that the man was using. She studied her former clan's different positions and styles extensively as she wanted to find the ones that best flowed with her serpent style.

Hinata grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back and kicked the back of his knee causing it to buckle and he fell to his knees. He grit his teeth at his predicament. He couldn't believe that she had been able to beat his so quickly.

"You rely far too much on the Hyuga's style. I know all of its flaws." Hinata said as she twisted his arm painfully.

"Let him go."

Hinata turned and her eyes widened when she saw the elder Hyuga holding Naruto by the throat as his other hand was held palm open towards Naruto's chest, right over his heart. The look on his face told her that he would kill Naruto if she didn't comply. Hinata released the first Hyuga in defeat.

"**Eight Trigrams: 64 strikes!**" He shouted as he got to his feet and hit Hinata with one of the clan's most powerful techniques.

Hinata cried out as she was launched back into the wall. She slowly slid down as she felt her chakra shut off from the blows to her tenketsu. She was still able to raise her head and look at the two Hyuga. The leader was admonishing his subordinate for his earlier defeat. He turned and looked at Hinata.

"This is where it ends. I will kill this piece of scum in front of you and show you the punishment that awaits those that cross our clan." He said as he slammed his palm in Naruto's gut. His coughed up blood and was wracked in pain. The Hyuga wasn't finished and continued to strike Naruto in various, non-lethal points on his body.

"Stop it!" Hinata cried out as she tried to get to her feet, but ultimately failed.

"You are in no position to be making demands. Be silent and watch as your so called lover is finally erased from the earth." The Hyuga leader said as he threw Naruto back to crash into the wall. He told his subordinate to hold him and the second Hyuga walked over and held Naruto up as he waited for his superior to land the finally blow.

"That is quite enough." All present parties turned to look to the door, where Itachi Uchiha was calmly standing.

"Itachi Uchiha?! What are you doing here?!" The Hyuga leader asked in surprise and concern. Beating Hinata and Naruto in their weakened states would have been simple enough. However, to meet the killer of the entire Uchiha clan face to face was another matter entirely. Itachi said nothing as he calmly strode into the room and faced off with the two Hyuga, who fell into combat stances.

"You two are endangering my mission. That I cannot allow." Itachi said in a calm tone.

"Our mission is to ensure the death of these two. We do not fear you Uchiha!" The subordinate Hyuga yelled as he activated his Byakugan and rushed forward.

"Stop you fool!" His superior shouted, but to no avail.

The Hyuga was an inch away from striking Itachi in the heart when his vision began to darken. The last thing he saw was the Mangekyuo sharingan in Itachi's eyes.

"**Tsukuyomi**. That idiot ran right into it. However, I won't be so easily defeated." The Hyuga superior said as he spared his unconscious comrade not a glance.

As the Hyuga focused on Itachi's midsection, so as not to be caught in a genjutsu, Hinata had slowly been able to crawl over to Naruto. Her body was slowly recovering from the earlier attack but she was still unable to rise to her feet.

'Naruto-kun.' Hinata thought as she pulled her way to his unconscious body. Naruto had blacked out earlier from the attacks on his body and was unresponsive, though Hinata could tell he was still breathing.

'I've got to do something.' Hinata thought as she watched Itachi and the Hyuga fight. Actually, she really couldn't call it a fight. Itachi seemed content to dodge every blow coming his way while the Hyuga seemed determined to kill the Uchiha. However, no matter what he tried, he was unable to touch the Uchiha prodigy.

Hinata desperately tried to think of something she could do. No matter who won this confrontation, it didn't bode well for either her or Naruto. She was unsure of the reason behind Itachi's presence, but she knew that it couldn't be good. However, simply crawling over to Naruto's position had taken all of her strength and she realized that Itachi had had enough of the troublesome Hyuga member.

In a blink of an eye, Itachi launched a kunai at his opponent. The Hyuga easily so it coming and dodged. He rushed forward and slammed his palm into itachi's chest. Itachi then burst into a swarm of black ravens.

'Genjutsu! When did he activate it?' The Hyuga thought as he quickly dispelled the technique. He was too late however, as Itachi was already behind him with his sword piercing the Hyuga's heart. Itachi pulled the blade out and calmly cleaned the blade before returning it to its sheath. He turned and observed the struggling girl as Hinata was still desperately trying to get to her feet.

"That you can move after suffering from that earlier attack is impressive." Itachi said simply with no emotion.

"What do you want?" Hinata asked as she finally got to her feet.

"Naruto." Itachi said.

"I won't let you take him!" Hinata said as she swayed a bit.

"You are in no condition to stop me young Hyuga. Stand aside as I have no quarrel with you." Itachi said.

"You want to hurt Naruto-kun for what he did to Sasuke? Your brother deserved his fate." Hinata said venomously.

"Agreed. I hold no grudge against Naruto for the death of my pathetic younger brother. Sasuke was a fool to rely on others for strength and for allowing his jealousy of Naruto to overwhelm his mind." Itachi said in agreement.

"Then why are you here?" Hinata asked a bit unnerved that not a shred of emotion had crossed his face at his previous statement. It seemed that itachi cared nothing for his deceased brother.

"My organization seeks the Kyuubi." Itachi responded.

"For what purpose?" Hinata asked.

"That is none of your concern. This is your last warning, stand aside or you will suffer the same fate as those two Hyuga." Itachi said as he walked towards Hinata.

"I will not leave him!" Hinata shouted as she glared at Itachi. She was confused when she saw his sharingan transform. Her vision then blackened as she heard Itachi activate his most powerful genjutsu.

"**Tsukuyomi**"

**(Tsukuyomi world)**

Hinata opened her eyes and found herself strapped to a cross. There was a blood red moon in the sky casting a red tint to everything.

'What's going on?' Hinata thought as Itachi appeared.

"This is the most powerful genjutsu in the Uchiha's arsenal. I control this world and you are trapped. For the next 72 hours you will relive your worst nightmare. If you are strong enough then your mind will not shatter." Itachi said as he disappeared.

"My worst nightmare? What does he mean?" Hinata wondered as she tried to break free of the ropes binding her to the cross. It was very strange to her. She had been in a genjutsu before but never one this powerful or this real. She could feel the ropes biting into her wrists the more she struggled.

"Hinata-chan."

Hinata looked up and saw Naruto standing before her.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried out in happiness.

"Why Hinata-chan? Why couldn't you save me?" Naruto asked sadly.

"What? What are you talking about Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in confusion.

"I was captured Hinata-chan. I was captured because you failed to protect me. I did everything I could for you Hinata-chan! I loved you with all of my heart and you let me die!" Naruto shouted in rage at her.

Hinata was at a loss for words at the hateful look in Naruto's face. She had never seen in directed at her before and it tore at something in her heart.

"I would never do that Naruto-kun! I love you." She cried out as tears began running down her face.

"If you love me so much then why did you allow Itachi to take me? You know what? You're clan was right all those years ago, you truly are weak and useless!" Naruto said as dark figures began to appear behind him.

Hinata was fully crying now at the painful words coming from the mouth of her beloved. She could say nothing as the dark figures began to attack Naruto. Hinata screamed in anguish as Naruto was left broken and near death. He crawled over to her and looked her in the eye as blood ran out of his broken body.

"This is all your fault." He said as he died right in front of her.

'This can't be real! This isn't real! Please stop it!' Hinata screamed in her mind as she closed her eyes and willed the scene away. However, it was not to be as the genjutsu continued.

"Naruto!"

Hinata opened her eyes and watched as Kurenai appeared beside the dead body of Naruto. Kurenai cried out in sorrow for her dead student and looked at Hinata with hate filled eyes.

"Why didn't you do something Hinata?! How could you allow him to die like this?! I guess I was always wrong about you. You are not strong or a worthy ninja. You are a disgrace!" Kurenai shouted at her as the dark figures once again reappeared.

"K-Kurenai-nee-san! Look out!" Hinata cried as the dark figures approached Kurenai. Her words hurt Hinata but she was able to put that aside as she tried to warn her sister.

"This is your fault Hinata. If only you could have been stronger than none of this would have happened." Kurenai said as the dark figures tore her apart as well. Hinata's eyes widened in disbelief as Kurenai's blood splashed onto her body. Hinata screamed out in anguish at the sight but it was not over.

"Hinata."

Hinata opened her eyes and saw Shino walk up.

'No! Please no!' She shouted as she closed her eyes and tried to block it out. However it was to no avail. Shino continued to speak.

"Our team is broken because of you. I had always thought that you were strong. You overcame your depression when you family threw you out and you were a strong ally. However, I know see that I was wrong. For you to allow this to happen shows that you are a weak and helpless child that is always looking to others to do the work while you stay back and cower in fear. I have never been as ashamed in another as I am now." Shino said as the dark figures once again emerged.

"Please stop it." Hinata said desperately in a broken tone. She couldn't take it. The dark figures were not so accommodating however, and Shino as well as torn to pieces, his shouts of pain and agony ripping through Hinata's head.

"Hinata."

Hinata was shocked when the mangled bodies of Naruto, Kurenai, and Shino disappeared and Naruto was once again standing in front of her. He was once again looking at her in disgust.

"Why Hinata-chan? Why couldn't you save me?" Naruto asked sadly.

'No, not again! Please not again!' Hinata shouted in her mind as she cried out in anguish and fury as the genjutsu began to repeat itself.

And so it went for hours. Hinata was forced to relive her worst nightmare. Her most precious people were dying because of her weakness. The genjutsu actually began to change slightly and others were brought before her. Soon everyone that she considered a friend or loved one would be presented to her and brutally killed after proclaiming her a weakling and the cause for their imminent demise.

Hinata was not able to take this for much longer and was on the verge of a mental collapse. Her head fell to her chest and her eyes began to fade as her mind began to shatter to pieces.

"**Hinata.**"

Hinata's head jerked briefly before she once again began to slip into the darkness that represented her mental breakdown.

"**Hinata!**"

Hinata warily looked up. In front of her, she once again saw a precious person of hers preparing to die. This time it was Anko. However, something strange was happening. Anko's curses and hateful words began to deem until Hinata couldn't hear her at all. She could see Anko's hateful eyes and her lips continuing to move but there was no sound.

'W-what's going on?' Hinata thought tiredly.

"**Hinata you must listen to me! If you don't then both you and Naruto will be lost.**" The voice said.

Hinata vaguely recognized it as the same voice she had heard before she had been resurrected.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Hinata asked softly.

"**That** **isn't important right now. You have to be strong or Itachi will be victorious.**" The voice said urgently.

"I-I can't. I'm too weak. I'm nothing but a burden to others." Hinata said as the affect of the genjutsu became apparent.

"**That's a complete lie! Do you really think that Naruto and the others believe that? You are strong Hinata. You are the only one that can save Naruto and you must overcome your fear to do it. You fear that you will fail all those that you care for as you will not be strong enough to protect them. This is a very real fear that all feel at some point in their lives, but you cannot succumb to it.**" The female voice said.

"What can I do? I'm not strong enough to break this technique. Naruto-kun is going to be captured because I was too weak to save him. It is all my fault." Hinata said as her tears began once again.

"**Stop talking like that! You can still protect him but you must act quickly.**" The voice said.

"I don't know if I can." Hinata said as she began to slump down again. Her mind had taken a large amount of strain and her mental strength was nearly nonexistent.

"**Are you going to prove your fears right? Are you going to stand by and let the one you love get captured and possibly killed? I think not! Stand strong Hinata Yuhi! You are powerful and with my help you will succeed.**" The voice said once again.

Hinata used what little strength she had to observe the genjutsu she was trapped in. It had once again restarted and Naruto was once again in front of her. While she couldn't hear his words she had long since memorized them. The dark figures approached him again and were preparing to end his life.

'No. I won't let this happen!' Hinata thought as Naruto was attacked.

'I won't let it happen.'

'I won't let it happen!'

"I won't let it happen!" Hinata shouted as she felt a power spread through her body.

"**Good girl. I knew you were the one worthy of our power.**" The feminine voice said softly as Hinata's power began to erode the Tsukuyomi.

**(Real world)**

Itachi had grabbed Naruto was preparing to leave out the window. Only a few seconds had passed since he had captured the young Hyuga girl in his genjutsu and he was preparing to take his prize. Itachi truly didn't bear a grudge against Naruto. His brother had chosen his path and had paid the consequences.

'Foolish little brother. I had hoped that you would accomplish so much more.' Itachi thought. He paid no mind to the single tear that fell down his face at the thought.

Itachi was broken from his thoughts when he felt a pulse come from the young Hyuga girl. He watched, intrigued as she slowly began to awaken and rise to her feet.

'Impossible. No one has ever been able to break out of the Tsukuyomi unless they are of Uchiha blood.' Itachi thought as a bright white light began to envelope Hinata's body. The light was awe inspiring as it seemed as pure and white as snow yet held an indescribable power within it.

Hinata got to her feet and turned to look at Itachi. Her eyes were pure white and her hair began to grow until it reached far down her back. Strange symbols began to form on her skin. The symbols were very faint and were almost invisible against her pale skin. However, Itachi's sharingan showed him in great detail just how complex the markings were. He couldn't begin to imagine what their presence meant just as he couldn't figure out how Hinata had been able to break out of the Tsukuyomi.

"You will not take him." Hinata said in an ethereal voice. Itachi lowered Naruto to the ground as he observed his opponent. That she had been able to overcome one, if not _the_, most powerful genjutsus in the world was truly a shock to the elder Uchiha. For the first time in a long time he wasn't sure what he was going to do. It wasn't that he feared her, though the amount of chakra she was releasing was shockingly high. He was still sure that he could defeat her, however, without knowing exactly where this power had come from and what it allowed her to do he was erring on the side of caution.

Hinata raised her hand as the white chakra began to form in her had. A long white pillar of chakra appeared in her hand. She brought her right hand up and grabbed the center of the pillar. She pulled back and the column of white chakra began to bend and stretch as well until it seemed that she was holding a bow of chakra.

"Leave." Hinata said calmly as she released an arrow of pure white that flew at Itachi at speeds that even his sharingan couldn't follow.

The window behind Itachi exploded out from the force behind the attack. Hinata calmly jumped to avoid the sword that was about to hit her from behind. She turned and stared at Itachi who was once again surprised by what he saw. Hinata's eyes were still white but there were now the telltale veins around her eyes that showed that her Byakugan was back.

'This is very interesting. However, I no longer have time to waste.' Itachi thought as he watched Hinata draw back on her bow once again.

"You will not take the one I love Itachi Uchiha. You clan seems to know only how to destroy. You will not destroy our love nor will you harm anyone I care for." Hinata said as the arrow of chakra began to grow in size until it was roughly triple the size it was before.

Itachi quickly ran though the calculations of how much damage that arrow would cause compared to the earlier one he also tilted his head a bit when he felt foreign chakra signatures swiftly approaching. Coming to decision, Itachi relaxed his stance and put away his sword. His cloak had been vaporized by the earlier attack after he had hastily switched his body with a nearby object. That the attack was strong enough to still damage his clothing spoke of its strength.

"It seems my time has run out. Both you and Naruto are very interesting Hinata Hyuga." Itachi said.

"My name is Hinata Yuhi. Learn it well as it is the name of the one who will kill you." Hinata said as she continued to watch him.

"We shall see. Our next encounter will be very different young Yuhi." Itachi said as he sank into the ground and disappeared. Immediately, the door opened and the doctor from earlier appeared along with a few Anbu and Kakashi and Kurenai.

"Hinata?" Kurenai said in shock as she took in Hinata's new appearance.

"It's okay nee-san. We're both okay." Hinata said as she slowly walked over to Naruto and placed him back in his bed. She climbed in with him and laid her head on his chest. She then rose up and kissed him on the lips. The white light that flowed around her began to seep into Naruto before she broke the kiss and passed out on his chest.

**(Three days later)**

The war was over and the leaf had once again survived. Their losses were costly but with the return of their forces that had been out completing missions during the start of the war, the leaf was still powerful. The village itself had taken only minor damage and was quickly on the way to being rebuilt.

Tsunade looked over at the patients in the hospital. She could only sigh in annoyance at how things had gone. Orochimaru was dead. That actually was a bitter sweet piece of information for her. While he was deranged and evil, a part of her would always remember when he was her teammate and the many battles and adventures they had gone on together.

'Speaking of teammates.' Tsunade thought as she looked down at the bed that held Jiraiya.

He had walked back into the village and had only been able to inform her that Orochimaru was dead before passing out. Tsunade was in no shape to heal him at the current time as she was low on chakra. She had nearly died in fright when she realized that he had been struck with Orochimaru's kusanagi. The legendary blade's poison was nearly incurable for anyone other than herself. However, her fear was unfounded when she realized that he had passed out from exhaustion, not envenomation. Upon further inspection she saw that there was a strange seal on his body. She hadn't been sure at the time what that meant until she had been able to build up her strength and began to heal him. Jiraiya had told her himself what that seal was for, after he had woken up.

'It's a seal Tsunade. I placed it on myself before the fight. It absorbs the poison and stores it away. However it can't neutralize it.' Jiraiya had told her. She had him slowly release the seal and she extracted the venom at the same time. It didn't take too long and he was now fine, though he would be bed ridden for a few more days.

Tsunade left Jiraiya's room and walked around the busy hospital. The hospital was filled with injured ninja but things were slowly starting to wind down. She smiled as she saw most of the boys that were injured just a few days ago were now sitting at the bed sides of their girl friends. She had gotten the news from Shizune about how they had all fought together to defeat Jugo.

'We were very lucky.' Tsunade thought as she reached her office and thought about everything that had happened. The village was now on lock down as they tried to take stock on everything that had happened as well as what they were going to do now. They hadn't been hurt drastically but either the sound-sand invasion or this recent one but all together both of those battles had reduced the village's strength down to less than half of what it had been before.

She knew that she was going to have to make some serious decisions soon as other villages would now be watching Konoha very carefully to see whether they could take advantage of the situation. Tsunade knew that the hidden stone village would love nothing more than to annihilate Konoha, however they were still hurting from the third great ninja war and were not about to attack again without a firm idea of Konoha's strength.

Tsunade was very grateful to the hidden sand village as they had provided supplies and support for their leaf allies in the recent days after the battle. Gaara was in line to become the next Kazekage and with the attachments he as well as his sister had to the leaf, Tsunade knew that they had at least one ally that they could always count on in case another hidden village decided to test their luck.

'Things are hectic. I've got to decide what missions we will accept or decline, what to do about the losses we suffered, and I have to figure out what the heck happened in Naru-chan's room.' Tsunade thought as she pulled out a bottle of sake and took a long draw of the liquid. Neither Naruto nor Hinata had awoken yet and she was starting to get concerned.

"You know that isn't very good for you Hokage-sama."

Tsunade looked up and was instantly on guard as a figure dress in a black cloak that hid all of his features stepped out of the shadows.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Tsunade asked warily as her Anbu guards immediately appeared in the room with their blades at the ready.

"Easy, easy I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk to you about Naruto and Hinata." The mysterious man said simply.

"Then talk, but first I want to know who you are!" Tsunade shouted as she cracked her knuckles.

"Who am I? Well…..That is a secret!" The man said in a jovial tone as all the occupants of the room stared at him as if he were insane.

'Something tells me that this guy is going to be a severe pain in the butt.' Tsunade thought as her eyebrow twitched.

**(end)**

**Here's chapter 55! It's a bit short compared to my others but that's because this was the best place to cut it off. Next chapter will be long and it will deal with the aftermath of the war as well as how things are going to change. There may even be a lemon in there, I haven't decided just yet. It would be my first time writing one and I would like your opinion as a reader as to whether or not I should write one for this story or not.**

**The mysterious man has reappeared! What information does he bring about Naruto and Hinata? What power did Hinata tap into? Why do I always have to end a chapter with a cliff hanger? That is a secret! **

**Till next time, Kyuubi123 out!**


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

**Due to popular demand this chapter will have a lemon in it. There will be a note labeling its beginning and ending just in case you don't want to read it. This is my first try at a lemon so please review and tell me how I did. If it goes well I may add a few more to the story soon.**

**(Hokage's Mountain)**

"…That is a secret! What kind of lame excuse is that?" Tsunade yelled in nearly dumbfounded annoyance. She couldn't believe that this person had the gall to sneak into her office, reveal that he had information on Naru-chan and Hinata, and then refuse to tell her who he was!

"I am only going to tell you once more! Tell me who you are." Tsunade said in a deadly serious tone. Her anbu tightened their stances, awaiting her orders.

"Now now, Hokage-sama let's not do anything rash shall we? Rather than inquire about my identity I would assume that you would want to first discuss Naruto and Hinata's rather interesting conditions." He replied calmly. He didn't at all seem to fear the Hokage or her legion of highly trained anbu guards.

"What do you know about that?" Tsunade asked suspiciously.

"I know enough. However, I believe that this is a conversation that should be held with them present. If you would be so kind as to escort me to their room we can then discuss this like adults." He said.

Tsunade stared at the newcomer for a minute trying to make up her mind about what she should do. While she knew enough to recognize that this must be the mysterious person who had helped Naruto for so long in the past, she was still suspicious of the man as he evaded any questions about his identity and his actions. Still, if he could somehow help Naruto and Hinata then she was not opposed to giving him some leeway. Besides if he really meant any harm then he had more than enough opportunities to do it.

'Still, I'll keep my eye on him and I will figure out who he is.' Tsuande thought.

"Fine, let's go see them." Tsunade said as she ordered her guards to stand down. She walked to the door and opened it for him. She wasn't going to allow him to walk behind her, just in case.

"After you." Tsunade said.

"Women should always go first, especially the elderly!" He said in a jovial tone.

Tsunade's killing intent was high enough to disturb the hidden anbu, but the intruder looked as if it had no affect on him.

"I still don't fully trust you. Thus you will be within my line of sight at all times! Am I clear?" Tsunade seethed in rage.

"Crystal." He responded as he walked through the door and began the trek to the hospital.

'I am seriously going to kill him.' Tsunade thought.

"Hey Baa-chan! Hurry up!" he called back to her.

"Die!" Tsunade shouted as she rushed after the chuckling figure.

**(Hospital)**

"Get back here!" Tsunade shouted as she rushed through the hospital, seeking the death of the infuriating man before her that always seemed to be able to escape her reach.

"Don't tell me you're getting slow in your old age!" he called back as he continued to egg on the powerful sannin.

"Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade was so taken with her rage that she plowed right into Shizune. She immediately got to her feet and was going to continue after the man when Shizune grabbed her by the arm.

"Tsunade-sama you must calm down. You are causing quite a commotion." Shizune pleaded with her. She didn't know what was going on but she couldn't allow an enraged Tsunade to run rampant through the hospital.

Tsunade was seething mad but slowly regained her composure. The man was now calmly standing beside Naruto's room and seemed to have lost his easy going and joking mood. Tsunade walked up to him and opened the door to walk in. She was still angry at him but was going to control herself especially if he could do something for Naruto and Hinata, who had yet to awaken from their slumber.

"Well, I see they are comfortable." He said in a serious tone as he walked over to them.

"What are you going to do?" Tsunade asked hurriedly.

"Wake them up. They've been out of it for long enough." He responded as he laid a hand on both of them. They both began to stir and suddenly awakened.

"Kaa-san?" Naruto said as he saw Tsunade in his blurred vision. Hinata was also disoriented and it took a minute before they both regained their composure and noticed the black cloaked figure beside their bed.

"You!" Naruto called out in surprise and confusion.

"Hello Naruto and Hinata." He responded as he took a step back.

Naruto was confused about a lot of things. First of all he no longer had any pain in his body from the earlier damage he himself had done. Tsunade had told him in blunt terms that he would be out of commission for a lot longer than the amount of time that had expired. Also, he was confused as to what had happened after he was attacked by those Hyuga. He had lost consciousness after the brutal attacks on his body and then remembered a warm feeling rushing through his body and then nothing.

Hinata was also confused as to what had happened. She could remember everything up to driving Itachi away. After that it was a blur.

"Hinata-chan you look different." Naruto said as he shook his thoughts off and finally noticed how Hinata had changed.

Hinata looked at herself in confusion and finally noticed her longer hair and the faint, intricate markings on her skin.

"W-what's happened to me?" She asked in a scared voice.

"Calm down Hinata. Everything is going to be alright." The man said as Naruto wrapped her up in a hug. He quickly reassured her that he didn't care about the changes and actually thought the longer hair and strange markings made her look very beautiful. After she had calmed down the man resumed talking.

"This is what happens when you release such a large amount of divine chakra all at once." He said to Hinata, much to all of the room's occupants' confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade asked.

"Naruto, I'm sure that Kyuubi talked to you about the divine chakra right?" He asked, ignoring Tsunade's question.

"Yeah, but are you saying that Hinata can use the dragon's power as well?" Naruto asked as Hinata looked on in a somewhat hopeful look.

"Not at all." He responded much to Naruto's irritation and Hinata's disappointment.

"The dragons will only obey one master and that is the keeper of the sword. Oh and by the way, I think you need this back." He said as he reached into his robe and pulled out Naruto's dragon sword. He tossed the blade to Naruto who caught it and instantly felt the warmth of the sword as if greeting him.

'Yeah, I guess I missed you too.' Naruto thought with a smile. It felt good to have the blade back by his side.

"You feel one hundred percent better don't you Naruto?" The man asked suddenly.

"Yeah I do. I don't get it Kaa-san you said that it was going to be a long time before I was fully recovered." Naruto said as he looked to Tsunade.

"I know. I can't fathom how you've recovered so quickly. You should've be out of commission for a lot longer." Tsunade said as she walked over and checked him. His chakra coils were fully repaired and functional.

"We have Hinata to thank for that." The man said as Naruto and Tsunade turned to Hinata in confusion. However, Hinata herself had a confused look on her face and also wanted clarification.

"Pull up a chair Hokage-sama, this may take a while." The man said as he pulled up and chair and sat down. Once Tsuande had done the same and Naruto and Hinata positioned themselves in a more comfortable way, he began talking.

"You see Naruto, while Hinata cannot call upon the power of the dragons, they are not the only beings under Kami's command. Didn't the fox tell you?" He asked.

Naruto thought for a moment before her recalled what Kyuubi had said when he explained the danger of mixing demonic and divine chakra. Naruto suddenly remembered that the fox mentioned another group of beings controlled by kami.

"Angels? Are you telling me that Hinata-chan can use the power of angels?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Correct." The man said simply much to the shock of Hinata and Tsunade.

"Angels? How?" Hinata asked the man. Tsunade and Naruto looked to him as well, both also wanting an explanation.

"I really can't answer that. I had nothing to do with it. I'm sure that you've spoken to the liaison for the angels Hinata. It's her that you'll have to get the answers from. Neither I nor the dragons had anything to do with your resurrection or your sudden ability to use divine chakra." He said in a solemn tone.

All three of the room's occupants were soon in deep thought. Hinata was wondering how to contact the strange woman again. Naruto was wondering what all this meant. Tsunade was simply trying to get brought up to speed on everything that had happened.

"Oh and before I forget. She gave me something for you Hinata." The man said as he reached into his cloak again.

He pulled out twin daggers. The blades were only slightly longer than that of a kunai and were slightly curved yet they were truly beautiful. Snow white in color, they had light gold marking running along them that were nearly identical to the markings that were now on Hinata's skin. He threw them to her and Hinata caught them. She, like Naruto felt a rush of warmth through her body.

"Can Hinata summon angels with them?" Naruto asked as he admired the beautiful blades.

"I don't know. Like I said I am truly just the messenger when it comes to this. Hinata will have to figure that out on her own." The man said simply as he leaned back in his chair. For the first time, Naruto thought he heard a bit of exasperation in the man's tone.

"I really hate being the errand boy for her. Oh well back to business. Naruto you have lost all of your free passes." The man said sharply as he looked at Naruto.

Though Naruto couldn't see his face, he could feel the stare of the man like a weight on his shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Just what I said. From now on, you're on your own if you get in over your head. Truthfully you should have died in that bunker with Danzo had I not intervened. Also, while you were busy with Danzo I intercepted a few of his root anbu that were heading in the direction of your injured comrades. I dispatched them quickly. However, I'm no longer allowed to do such a thing again. If you or someone you know is in danger then I am forbidden from saving either you or them." He said grimly.

"Forbidden? Forbidden by who?" Tsunade asked as she re-entered the conversation.

"That is a secret!" He said in his usual jovial tone.

"That's it!" Tsuande shouted as she leapt out of her chair and threw a super charged punch towards his head.

All present parties where stunned when he grabbed her fist with no effort whatsoever.

"Now now Hokage-sama. Let's keep our cool." He said as he released her hand.

"I get it. I'm on my own from here on out. That's fine." Naruto said, though he did feel a slight chill that the man wouldn't be able to directly help him anymore.

"I'm not finished. The time for games is over. Both you and Hinata will need to train quickly and become proficient in using your powers. Hinata I am not terribly knowledgeable about what the angels want you for but you will still need to learn to draw upon their power. I am willing to help you both in that regard." He said calmly.

"You're going to train us?" Naruto shouted in disbelief.

"In a manner of speaking." He replied nonchalantly.

"Wait just a minute. Naru-chan, Jiraiya wanted me to allow him to take you on a three year trip so that he could train you more extensively." Tsuande told him.

"That's not a good idea." The man said suddenly.

"Oh? And why prey tell is it not a good idea?" Tsuande asked in irritation.

"Your forces are roughly cut in half after that last battle and your enemies are chomping at the bit to wipe you out. Naruto's fame for summoning Drac during the invasion has spread quite a bit and Jiraiya is known throughout the lands as the most powerful of the sannin, especially since he took out Orochimaru. That being the case you don't want two of your best war deterrents out of the village at such a time as this." He calmly explained.

He had a point. Tsunade had been getting reports from their borders that rock and lightening ninja had been seen frequently. They hadn't been hostile but they did seem to be observing just how long it took a leaf team to face off with them. It was obvious that they were testing the strength of the borders just in case the leaf was weak enough for an invasion.

The rock and lightening villages were very powerful. Konoha had been the strongest of the five great hidden villages but the Kyuubi attack and the two invasions had left them weakened. If Tsunade's numbers were right then Lightening had become the strongest in terms of army with Rock being a close second. Konoha was now third in terms of military strength with mist and sand bringing up the rear. Even with sand on their side, they wouldn't have the numbers to take on both rock and lightening villages at the same time.

He had a point though. Lightening wasn't truly an enemy like rock was. The hidden rock village hated konoha with a passion after Minato Namikaze had singlehandedly wiped out half of their invading army. He was the reason that Konoha had survived the Third Great Ninja War and the rock village was still angry over this. However, the lightening village was more or less neutral with Konoha, though they wouldn't mind taking the leaf village out if they had the chance, it was nothing personal. As long as Konoha had Jiraiya and the threat of Naruto summoning dragons, beasts that hadn't been seen in lifetimes, Lightening would be less then inclined to attack them.

"You have a point. Still Jiraiya was quite adamant about teaching him." Tsunade said.

"I'm sure something can be worked out between us." The man said with a wave of his hand.

"I want to learn how to summon the rest of the dragons." Naruto said softly.

"Oh?" The man asked.

"Yes! I want to protect my village! So far I only summoned Drac and Tetsuya through sheer instinct. If either of those two villages does attack then I can't rely on that. I need to know how to do it!" Naruto said with fire in his eyes. He would protect the village, no matter what it took.

'Naruto-kun.' Hinata thought with a blush at his conviction and the determination in his face.

"That's my Naru-chan!" Tsuande said happily.

"Agreed. You will need the rest of them soon. Still it won't be easy at all." He warned.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. So far he had had good luck with the dragons. Drac was easy to get along with and immediately helped him out. Tetsuya was a bit blood thirsty but she also helped him out.

"Drac as I told you was always the most accepting of the dragons. This is because he is the youngest and has the least amount of pride. Tetsuya loves her younger brother and trusts his judgment of others. The others will not be as accommodating. The dragons of wind, water and earth are very hard to work with as they take after their elements. Earth is incredibly hard to move thus he will be the most stubborn. Wind is free flowing and impossible to control and he will also give you trouble. Water, while still difficult, would probably be the best one for you to start with though we'll get to that at another time." He said as he rose to his feet.

"Rest up Naruto. Soon our training will commence and you will need your full strength for it." He said as he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Naruto said quickly.

"What is it?" He asked as he turned to look at the young ninja.

"What about the dragon of lightening?" Naruto asked as he remembered Kyuubi's quip about the only dragon that had ever been able to cause the fox any trouble in battle.

"Naruto listen to me very carefully. It would probably be best if you forgot about that one." He said in a deathly serious tone.

All three of the ninja felt a chill at his words. Hinata regained her composure first and asked a simple question.

"Why does Naruto-kun need to do that? What would happen if he were to summon the lightening dragon?" Hianta asked. She, Tsunade and Naruto expected his usual statement that it was a secret. However, he didn't seem to be in a joking mood anymore.

"Pray that you never have to find out." He said as she suddenly disappeared.

'Well, that was helpful.' Naruto thought before Tsunade rushed over and enveloped both Naruto and Hinata in a hug.

"C-can't breathe K-Kaa-san." Naruto uttered as Tsunade quickly released them both.

"Sorry about that. You two are going to make me grow grey hairs with the problems that you somehow keep finding yourselves in." She said sheepishly.

"Tell me about it." Naruto muttered as he turned to see Hinata deep in thought.

"What's wrong Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I was just thinking about the attack on us a few days ago. Those Hyuga could have only attacked with an order from the clan head." Hinata said softly and with a hint of sadness. Though she had renounced her old family, it still hurt that her father would try and kill her and her boyfriend.

Naruto wrapped her in his arms and quietly spoke to her. His comforting words eased her troubled mind and she snuggled deeply into his chest. Naruto looked over to Tsunade with an expression that showed just what he planned to do when he got released from the hospital.

'Hiashi is a dead man.' Tsunade thought to herself.

"Don't worry you two. I couldn't move against him before without evidence but thanks to Itachi I have all that I need to finally get rid of him." She said with a smirk.

"Itachi? What are you talking about Tsunade-san." Hinata asked.

"While he did kill one of the Hyuga that attacked you, the other was only suffering from the affects of the tsukuyomi which I was able to cure. Right now he is in the hands of Ibiki and will soon be providing me with all of the ammo I need to put Hiashi away." She clarified.

"That's good. He'll finally get what's coming to him. Though I still want to break his legs." Naruto said firmly.

"Still that will create a rift in the Hyuga clan. They will need a new clan heir and I'm afraid that Hanabi is still too young to take control. It's very likely that the elders will nominate someone of their choosing." Tsunade said grimly. The Hyuga elders were made up of the eldest of the main branch members and they were known for their superiority complex as well as their desire to keep the clan pure and the branch family in bondage.

"Is there really nothing else we can do?" Hinata asked in despair. The hardest thing she had been forced to do was to turn her back on the branch family. However, with Hiashi soon to be out of the head position then there was a rift that she herself could fill. Any past heir was allowed to apply for the position. However she knew it wouldn't be that easy as the elders would try and stop her and she would most likely have to fight someone of their choice for the position.

'Do I even want it?' Hinata thought as she considered what she could be losing. If she were to return to the clan than she could help the branch family, at least slightly. It would be extremely difficult for the elders to even budge over the topic of the seal. Also she would have to move out of Kurenai's house and become a Hyuga once again. That name still caused her and those she cared about so much pain. She was unsure that she would be able to handle it.

Hinata had a lot to think about, though she wasn't the only one in the hospital that had a lot on their mind.

**(Iruka's room)**

Iruka was still confined to his bed and was sleeping. He had nearly died stopping Anko from her crazed attack and her poisoned kunai was only an inch from hitting his heart. Tsunade had been able to provide enough assistance on the spot to keep Anko's highly toxic poison from killing him outright but it still caused a bit of damage around his lungs that forced him to remain in the hospital for a few more days. He was currently sleeping and his breathing was raspy and labored as they had had him on a system to help him breath up until a day ago. His lungs would heal but it was unclear of how much damage was now permanent.

A figure stood at the foot of his bed. The figure slowly walked over to his side and gently laid their hand on his face.

'Iruka-kun.'

Anko had been released from the hospital just a few hours ago from her own injuries. She had walked around in a desolate, broken state as she remembered what she had done during the war. Anko had always been ridiculed as being a spy for Orochimaru after he had released her. She worked long and hard to remove that stigma from her and be accepted by her peers. She had believed that she would finally be free from not only the accusations but also from her own fears.

Though she would never tell anyone, she too had been deathly afraid that Orochimaru was still somewhere in her head and that he would control her one day. However, after meeting Naruto her world had changed. She learned how to once again truly care for someone other than Kurenai who had been her only friend for the longest time. Through Naruto she had met Iruka. She didn't know it at the time but he was the best thing to ever happen to her.

'Look what I've done to you Iruka-kun. How could I do that to you? I really am a traitor.' Anko thought as a few tears escaped her eyes.

"I'm sorry Iruka-kun. I am so sorry. You'll never have to deal with me anymore." She said with a broken hearted smile as she gave him a small kiss and left out of his door.

Iruka began to awaken and his hazy mind only had one thing on it.

'Anko-chan.' He thought before he once again fell unconscious.

**(Nara compound)**

Shikamaru and his father Shikaku were sitting in the middle of their home with a shogi board between them. The Nara men had been at the game for a while and neither was willing to be defeated. It was Shikamaru's move and he was carefully going through every conceivable move and counter move before acting. He was just finishing up his fiftieth attack plan when Shikaku broke through his thoughts.

"Son, I've only given you a few rules to live by. What was the most important one?" Shikaku asked in son.

"To never, ever get involved romantically with a troublesome woman." Shikamaru answered in a bored tone.

"Exactly, with this in mind would you explain why you are currently dating a woman that you yourself has admitted is even more troublesome than your mother?" Shikaku asked.

Shikamaru didn't answer for a while. He had always lived by avoiding things that he considered troublesome and yet he was indeed dating Temari of the sand village. She was bossy, strong, loud and very troublesome. However, he couldn't help the attraction that he held for her.

Temari like the rest of the girls had been injured during her battle with Jugo. However, the hospital was still packed with those that were severely injured and the sand ninja wasn't that badly hurt. Thus Tsunade ordered that she and the rest of the females rest in their homes. As she was a member of another village, Temari had no home to stay at and Shikamaru had offered that she rest for a few days at his clan house.

'In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best move I could have made.' He thought. The problem wasn't that his parents didn't like her. Both were deeply grateful for how she had protected Shikamaru during the invasion, the problem was that Shikamaru's mother Yoshino liked Temari too well. Even now Shikamaru could hear the two women in the kitchen laughing and conversing as if they were the best of friends.

'Mom even told me that if I did anything to mess up my relationship with Temari that she would make me regret it.' Shikamaru thought. Yoshino immediately took to Temari and welcomed the young woman lovingly.

"Temari is troublesome, but she has a sweet side to her that makes it all worth it." Shikamaru said as he stared his father in the face. He would stand by his decision to date her, even if his father didn't completely approve. Surprisingly, his father smiled back at him.

"Exactly. You always asked me why I loved your mother and you seem to have figured out the reason yourself. I guess we are forever doomed to fall for troublesome, powerful women." Shikaku said with a sigh.

Shikamaru said nothing. He had learned a long time ago that his mother had very sharp ears and when she appeared behind Shikaku and smacked him with her iron skillet, Shikamaru could only shake his head at his father's actions.

"Troublesome am I Shikaku-kun? We'll just see about that." Yoshino said as she grabbed Shikaku and dragged him into the next room with her.

'Poor dad. He really should learn to keep his mouth shut when mom is around.' Shikamaru thought as Temari walked into the room. Her ribs were still damaged but they were swiftly healing.

"What happened to your parents? One minute I'm talking to Yoshino-san and the next she rushes out of the room with an angered look on her face." Temari asked curiously.

"Mom has very sharp ears and dad just called her a troublesome woman. She took offense to it." Shikamaru said calmly as Temari sat in Shikaku's previous seat and observed the board. She was very good at shogi though she had yet to beat either Shikamaru or Shikaku. She looked up at her boyfriend and couldn't help but wonder how things had changed so quickly for her.

She was the daughter of the fourth kazekage. She had suitors calling on her from other nations around the world and yet none of them interested her. She couldn't believe that she had fallen for a lazy, slacker like Shikamaru and yet here she was sitting in his home happily welcomed and accepted by his family. Temari had lost her mother at a young age and her father wasn't much of a parent either. Yoshino filled the void of a female companion that she hadn't even known that she missed, seeing as how she only had her two brothers and their sensei Baki. Shikaku was very caring as well and she couldn't help but fell that she had found a new family to become a part of.

Gaara and Kankuro had left a few days earlier for Suna. Gaara simply told her that she was now safe and that she could resume her duties as the liaison for the sand village. He and Kankuro had given Shikamaru and brief description of what would happen to him should any harm come to her while she stayed at his home. Also, before they left, both bowed to him and thanked him for saving her life when she had been captured.

'I can't believe that both of my brothers gave their approval for Shikamaru. Then again, he is pretty special.' Temari thought with a smile. However it soon faded as she thought about what he had said earlier.

"He called your mother troublesome? What about you? Do you think I'm troublesome?" Temari asked with a sweet smile.

Shikamaru smelled a trap but he was not going to lie to her. Also, her fan was not in the room so he didn't have to worry about her hitting him with anything.

"Yep." He said simply as he closed his eyes with a smile.

"Yoshino-san!" Temari called out. Yoshino appeared at the doorway to the next room.

"Yes Temari dear?" She asked.

"Can I borrow your skillet?" She asked sweetly as Shikamaru began to sweat.

"Of course dear!" Yoshino replied back with a smile as she tossed Temari her skillet.

'I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut.' Shikamaru thought as Temari slammed the skillet onto his head.

"Men." Temari sighed.

"Don't worry sweetie, they've got their uses." Yoshino assured her as she guided her back into the kitchen.

Shikaku had dragged his bruised body back to his son and retook his seat.

"Well it's still your move Shikamaru." He said calmly.

"Sure." He replied back as he returned his gaze to the board. Both he and his dad turned when they heard the women return to the room. They set out an array of snacks then leaned into the men to watch how the game would end. Both Nara men accepted the comfort and could only smile at the ability of their loves to both hurt and comfort them at the same time.

They were both completely whipped…and they liked it.

**(Aburame compound)**

Shino woke up and slowly made his way to the kitchen. He was almost fully healed from his previous wounds and now found himself in a reversed role of caring for the injured Haku. She was suffering from a severe case of chakra exhaustion as well as a few broken bones from her battle with Jugo. Still, he couldn't be more proud of her. As all of the other women admitted, without Haku there, they would have surly perished against the berserker.

As room in the hospital was only being given to those ninja that were severely injured, Haku had been discharged and told to remain in bed for a few days to recuperate. Shino's mother was not about to let her stay by herself in her apartment and had invited Haku to remain at their clan home until she was better. Neither Shino nor Shibi had a problem with this request in the slightest and Haku had become a welcome addition to their house.

Shino prepared a plate for Haku and slowly walked towards the room that had swiftly become hers. He knocked softly and walked in when he heard her invite him in. He saw her sitting up in her bed waiting for him. He walked over and set the plate down for her. She gave him a sweet smile in thanks and began to eat slowly.

Shino watched her and smiled softly at how beautiful she could be even after just awakening in the day. His insects began to buzz slightly at his heightened heart rate and Haku suddenly stopped eating and turned to look at him with a knowing smile. She had become very adept at reading his body language as well as the subtle buzzing that her personal insect would give off as his mood changed.

Shino couldn't believe his good fortune at finding someone like Haku. With only a smile she could lighten his mood and he had never believed that he could find someone like his father had found his mother. He had believed that he would remain alone for his entire life.

He looked up suddenly when he felt a soft hand on his face. Haku gripped his shoulders and brought him to her and embraced him. It was as if she could sense his thoughts and was reminding him that she was not going to disappear and leave him.

Shino brought her head up and softly kissed Haku. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the intimacy of the act and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She giggled softly at the way his body would vibrate slightly as his insects buzzed inside of him. Shino moved to deepen the kiss before the door opened.

"Haku-chan how are you feeling today?" Shino's mother Akiko asked as she entered. The smile on her face only broadened as she noticed the position they were in. That Shino had yet release her from their embrace displayed how comfortable he was with her.

"I am fine Akiko-san. I am still deeply thankful that you would invite me to stay at your home like this." Haku replied.

"You're like family dear. Think nothing of it. Shino-kun, your father would like to see you." Akiko said as her face became more serious.

Shino nodded and embraced Haku once more before he passed his mother to meet his father. Akiko watched him leave and then walked over to help Haku prepare for the day as the ice user was still having trouble moving from her earlier wounds.

'You really care for my Shino-kun don't you Haku-chan? You two remind me so much of myself and Shibi.' Akiko thought as she noticed hoe Haku was still looking at Shino's retreating back.

Shino walked out into the field and saw his father practicing with his multiple hives of insects. Shino's father was one of the only members of the clan to ever successfully integrate all of the special insects of their clan. It was incredibly difficult as many of the hives were naturally opposing. His father had to constantly keep the hives restrained and cooperative. It required constant training and a mental fortitude that was above what Shino could imagine.

"Father." Shino said as a greeting.

"Shino have a seat my son." Shibi said as all of the various hives of insects flew back into his body.

Shino sat down as his father finished calling back his insects. He turned to look at the rising sun and didn't speak for a time.

"You care deeply for the girl don't you?" Shibi asked.

"Hai." Shino responded shortly. His father's body language was slightly stiff as if he were indecisive about something.

"There are those within the clan that do not think that the clan heir should be in a relationship with someone possessing a different kekkei genkai. They fear that it will corrupt our own." Shibi said as he turned to look at his son.

Shino was not terribly surprised by his father's words. Shibi himself had faced scrutiny from the clan for taking a wife from another village. However, as Akiko had no kekkei genkai, the clan was more accepting of the union. However, Shino was not about to allow a few of the traditionalist clan elders prevent him from pursuing a relationship with Haku.

"It is not their concern. Logically, having Haku here provides a possibility of causing a strong blood line to form. If things even progress to that stage." Shino said though the last statement was more of an afterthought.

"Her powers deal with ice. You do realize that insects normally cannot survive such cold temperatures." Shibi said.

"I am aware. However, my insects have never been wary of her or of her chakra. In fact, they seem to like the quality of it." Shino said. The insect that Haku always keep with her never showed signs of discontent and was actually reluctant to return to Shino when he occasionally called it back to get a update on its health and development.

"You have my support no matter what happens my son. I simply wanted you to be aware of the misgivings that some have." Shibi said as he laid his hand on Shino's shoulder and left.

Shino sat for a while longer contemplating what the future may hold between Haku and his clan. If they refused to accept her, what would he do? Would he let her go or would he even leave the clan for her? Was she worth the possibility of being banished from the clan?

Shino felt that presence of Haku's insect and turned to see her limping out of the house with the help of his mother. He walked over and allowed her to lean on him as he took her to a special area of his house. Akiko watched them leave with a smile and hoped that they were able to work everything out. She knew firsthand how much pressure the clan could put on an outsider that wasn't accepted by all.

Shino took Haku to a meadow surrounded by trees and sat her on the ground. She looked at him curiously before he raised his hands and soon butterflies of all colors began to appear from the trees and flowers. Haku's bright smile and soft laugh wiped away any doubts he had as the butterflies flew around them by his commands and a few even landed on her, much to her delight. He sat behind her and allowed her to rest against his chest as the butterflies continued to fly and swirl in the air creating a beautiful scene.

'I will not let her go. I refuse to allow internal strife from the clan to dictate what I do or who I do it with.' Shino thought as he allowed his troubled thoughts to rest and simply enjoyed the peace of the moment.

**(Hisagia house)**

Neji stood in front of the stove trying, and failing, to make a meal for Tenten. Both were still in bad shape form their earlier wounds but Neji had had enough with simply laying around doing nothing and was desperate to do something. He had decided that he would try his hand at cooking. It was not something that he had ever truly tried before as he always had meals made for him at the Hyuga compound and Tenten and her father learned early on that it was not one of his talents.

Despite this, Neji was trying to make an effort to make something that Tenten would like. He owed her his life and was not someone who allowed his debts to go unpaid. Neji rubbed the area of his abdomen that had been hit by the arrow when he was protecting her. It was not yet fully healed and he was not sure that he wanted it to be. It was a constant reminder of just how far he would go to protect the strong female ninja.

"What have we told you about trying to cook?"

Neji turned and flinched at the look on Tenten's face. She limped over to him and roughly shoved him aside as she began to change his soon to be catastrophe into an actual edible food.

"I wanted to be of use and I hate lying around doing nothing." Neji said.

"You aren't fully healed yet Neji-kun." Tenten said as she gave his wounded abdomen a significant look.

"Neither are you Tenten-chan and yet here you are." He replied back with a smirk.

"You're both far too stubborn for our own good."

Neji and Tenten turned and saw Tenten's father, Cho, returning from a trip to the market.

"Why are you two up and about? You are both far from fully healed and I really don't feel like hauling both of you back to the hospital should you reopen your wounds." He said sternly.

"My apologies Hisagia-san. I was the one who was up first. Tenten-chan simply came to stop me from cooking." Neji said with a bow. Tenten's father was one of the only adults that really scared Neji.

"More like trying to stop you from burning the house down again." Tenten muttered. She gave a yelp when Neji poked her in her side for her comment.

"Both of you sit down and let me finish up with lunch." Cho said in a tone that left no room for an argument.

Both of the teens sat down beside one another and waited. Tenten would give Neji small glances as if she was unsure of how to pose a question that was bothering her. Neji noticed it immediately and decided to ask her about it. He had a good idea what it was about.

"What is on your mind Tenten-chan?" He asked softly as he observed her. Her body was giving off certain tells that spoke volumes to him.

She crossed her arms across her chest which was a sign that she was trying to protect herself from something. She leaned back a fraction of an inch showing that she was trying to stay away from something as well. She refused to look him in the eye which showed that she feared his reaction to what she was about to say. These were all signs that pointed to the one issue that he was sure she was having problems with.

"Did you mean what you said?" Tenten asked nervously.

Neji didn't need her to elaborate. She was seeking to know if he truly meant what he said when he had been near death after his fight with Kidomaru. He had told her that he loved her right before he had passed out from the damage his body had gone through. They hadn't been able to discuss it until now as either one or both of them were bed ridden or hospitalized.

Tenten was a proud kunoichi and despised being seen as weak. However, it was obvious that she wasn't sure that he meant what he said by her body language. Neji couldn't blame her as he had brushed her off the night before as he was unable to admit his own feelings.

'Did I mean it? We are both very young. Who's to say that she won't meet someone else later on in her life that she will care for more than me? Who's to say that my feelings are not a simply crush but actual love? I don't know the answer but I do know what I feel for her is something that I have not felt for anyone else in my entire life.' Neji thought as he grabbed Tenten's hand in his own.

"I meant what I said Tenten-chan. When I heard that you had been kidnapped, I felt a pain in my heart that I hadn't experienced since the death of my mother and father. I can't guarantee you that I will always say or do the right thing. There will be times that you will probably become quite upset with me. You actually deserve better than me. However, please allow me to be selfish just this once and say that I don't want to lose you and that I care for you." Neji said softly.

Tenten hated crying but tears proceeded to run down her face as she felt a weight lift from her chest. He hadn't come out and said that he loved her like before but she attributed that to him being a reserved person and that he wanted to be absolutely sure that what he spoke was the truth the next time that he said it. She would be patient though. She was sure of her feelings and knew that he felt the same.

"You two done yet?"

Both teens looked up and blushed slightly when Cho placed their lunches in front of them and sat down himself. He observed the two teens in front of him calmly. Tenten was simply embarrassed from being caught talking about such a thing. Neji seemed both embarrassed and slightly fearful. Despite the fact that he was a retired ninja of many years, Neji seemed to fear and respect him. It was slightly amusing but he decided to put them out of their misery.

"I guess if you have to date someone then it might as well be the guy who bled and almost died for you." He said calmly as he began to eat. The tension in the room immediately vanished as Tenten smiled gratefully at her father and Neji began to breathe again.

"I thank you Cho-san for your permission. Also, thank you for the twin broad swords. They are the reason that both of us are alive right now." Neji said as he too began to eat.

"Tell me about it. I also have a request for the two of you." Tenten said as the men looked at her.

"What is it?" Her father asked.

"I want you two to train me in taijutsu and any other skills you think will help me. I am a great weapon user but that isn't enough. In those last two battles, my skills were useless." Tenten said angrily.

Neji and Cho looked at one another and silently agreed.

"We'll help you in any way that we can." Cho said with a smile. Neji grabbed her hand a bit shyly as he nodded that he would help her as well.

'Things will work themselves out. As Naruto would say, fate has nothing to do with it. I will make my own destiny.' Neji thought as they continued to talk about what they would train her in.

**(Yamanaka store)**

Ino worked in her parent's flower store in a daze. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a while as she continually saw Jugo's peaceful face in her mind. She suddenly dropped the vase of roses in her hand as the color reminded her far too much of the crimson blood that splattered on her after delivering the killing blow. Her father, like the rest of the clan heads, was busy trying to regain stability in the village so she couldn't talk to him about it.

'I just can't get this out of my mind.' She thought sadly as she moved to clean up the mess she had made as tears began to fall from down her face.

"Ino-chan, are you here?"

Ino quickly wiped her eyes of her tears to try and hide them from Choji. She didn't want him to worry about her, especially after he had almost died for her just a week before.

'I can't tell Choji-kun. I don't want to be any more of a burden to him.' She thought as she plastered a smile on her face and turned to her boyfriend.

"Hey Choji-kun. How are you feeling?" She asked sweetly. Her smile faltered when she saw the look in his eyes.

Choji had easily noticed that something was wrong with Ino days ago when she returned to the hospital as he was being released. She wasn't physically hurt but there was obviously something on her mind. However, she continually told him that she was okay. Choji refused to allow things to rest and had gone in search of answers. His search had led him to Sakura. Sakura told him exactly what had happened during the fight and he knew from Ino's demeanor and posture that it was weighing heavily on her mind.

"You don't have to hide your emotions from me Ino-chan." He said as he walked towards her.

"W-what are you talking about? I'm fine Choji-kun." She said as she took a step back.

Choji didn't respond as he continued to walk towards Ino until she couldn't back up any further. He could see that she was barely controlling her emotions and that she was close to breaking.

"Let it out." Choji said softly as he wrapped his arms around her.

That was all it took for Ino to break down in his arms. He held her while her emotions ran rampant through her body and he softly consoled her with soothing words. He had had a hard time accepting that he had taken a life as well when he killed Jirobo.

Ino soon began to tell Choji all about the fight and what she had learned about Jugo. Choji was stunned. All of the other girls had simply stated that Jugo was a crazed beast that they barely managed to defeat. He had no idea that the man was actually nice and that he had allowed and even begged Ino to kill him. He now knew that she was having a much harder time than he over her first kill. Jirobo was an evil man and while Choji had to overcome the experience of his first kill, it wasn't nearly as difficult as it would be for Ino. Jugo was a good man and he had helped the girls to survive. For Ino to have to kill someone like him was something he couldn't even imagine. Choji had come thinking that Ino was having a hard time accepting the death of an enemy at her hands. The truth was that she was suffering from taking the life of a kind and peaceful man who wanted nothing to do with violence.

"It isn't fair. He was a nice man and only wanted to live in peace. It's not his fault that Orochimaru manipulated his evil side to kill. I wanted to save him. I should have saved him!" Ino cried out.

"It's not your fault Ino-chan. You did all you could for him. If what you told me is right then he was actually grateful for what you did. He was able for the first time in his life to overcome his evil side through his own will power alone. You gave him the strength he needed." Choji said in a soothing tone.

"But it wasn't enough! I still had to kill him! I was too weak to save him. What if something like this happens again Choji-kun? What if I am too weak to save my friends? What if I'm too weak to protect my village? What if I'm too weak to save you?" She said softly as she began to cry once again.

"Grow stronger."

Ino looked up and saw a determination in Choji's eyes that surprised her. It was the same look that he held when he fought Jirobo. His gaze held such conviction that she was stunned silent.

"That's what I tell myself everyday Ino-chan. Every day that I wake up I plan to grow stronger so that I will never be too weak to protect those I care for. It's the same with you. If you fear being weak then grow strong. If you fear failing your friends then train hard so that that will never happen. And remember that you aren't alone either. Me, Shikamaru, and Asuma-sensei will be there helping you every step of the way." Choji said with a determined smile.

"As will I may daughter."

Ino looked behind her to see her father standing at the door. He smiled at the scene in front of him and couldn't think of anyone better for her daughter to date. Time would tell whether or not the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans were to grow closer through their union but until then he was happy with her choice. He had been very busy for the past few days and had been unable to help Ino with the problems she was going through.

"I want to grow stronger. I refuse to fail someone I care about again." Ino said as she pulled away from Choji and dried her eyes.

"That's my girl. If you want, we can train together after your team practices so that I can show you some of the more powerful of our clan's techniques." Inoichi said.

"I'd love that dad! I can't wait. I'm going to show everyone just how strong I can be!" Ino said with fire in her eyes.

"There's the Ino-cahn I've come to know!" Choji said with a laugh.

"Choji-kun can I ask you for a favor?" Ino said suddenly as she picked up the flowers she dropped.

"Sure what is it?" Choji asked. Her demeanor had changed once again. It wasn't as depressed but it did have a hint of sadness in it.

"I want to go somewhere please come with me." Ino said as she walked to the door.

Choji looked to Inoichi and the elder Yamanaka nodded his consent.

Choji followed Ino to the Hokage's mountain. He knew instantly where she was going and held her hand for support. They reached the large crater that was Jugo finally resting place. The body had long since been removed leaving an empty pit. Ino removed her hand from Choji's and continued on alone. Choji knew that she needed to do this alone and was content to wait for her.

Ino stumbled down the crater until she stood in the very spot where Jugo met his end. She placed the flowers she held onto the ground and offered up a small pray for Jugo.

'Thank you. I am sorry that I couldn't save you but through meeting you I now understand just how weak I once was. I will grow stronger so that I will never be that weak again. I do this in honor of you.' Ino thought as she climbed up the side of the crater and met up with Choji once again. She gave one final look to Jugo resting place and turned her back on it. It was time to move forward with her life. She grabbed Choji's hand and decided that she had shed enough tears.

**(Training field)**

Sakura watched as Rock Lee continued to push himself with Gai-sensei. Lee was by far the most severely injured of the genin and was still wrapped in numerous bandages around his chest, arms, and legs. He looked like a mummy and yet he continued to train. He wasn't truly supposed to be released yet but the hospital was filled with only the most grievously injured of the ninja and civilians from the previous invasion.

Sakura had tried to reason with Lee about resting. However, he had simply given her his usual bright smile and told her that he had to continue to train harder. He felt ashamed that he had been unable to defeat Kimimaro without suffering so many injuries. Also, he had noticed that she had received a small cut from one of Kimimaro's attacks. He had instantly fallen to his knees and begged her to forgive him. Just the thought of it caused a few tears to fall from her eyes.

'He's always trying to protect me. Why doesn't he understand that it is my fault that all of this has happened. If only I had been stronger than none of this would have had to happen to him. He's always protecting me and getting hurt in the process.' She thought. First it was in the forest of death when he fought terrible odds just to protect her against the sound ninja. Then it was against Gaara when he had fought for her honor and had been defeated. Finally, he almost died saving her from an enemy ninja while she had been unable to do anything but weep uselessly.

'No more!' She thought to herself. She was done being useless. Every time that there was a big battle, she had been all but a waste of space. She hadn't even been able to do anything against Jugo. While she and Ino were the only two to make it out of that battle with minor injuries at best, Ino had still been able to contribute. In fact, without her help it was doubtful that any of them would have survived.

'But look at me. I wasn't able to do anything. If not for the others then Jugo would have killed all of the boys and I would have only been able to watch.' Sakura thought as she watched Lee fall to one knee in exhaustion. She quickly grabbed her medical kit and rushed over. One thing that she had found that she was good at was medicine. She quickly checked Lee over and found that he had popped one of his stitches. She quickly and efficiently sutured the flesh and rewrapped it.

"You are truly gifted Sakura-chan! I am blessed to have such an angel as you looking over me!" Lee said with a large smile on his face.

"Just be more careful Lee-kun. You really need to rest. Your body can only handle so much." She said as she slightly admonished him.

"I cannot stop yet Sakura-chan! Not until I am strong enough to take down anyone who threatens what is precious to me." He said. His smile never diminished as he limped slightly back to Gai.

Gai, while agreeing with Sakura that Lee needed to rest, knew his student well enough to know that he would do no such thing. So Gai had decided to continue to train him. At least this way he knew what Lee was doing and could somewhat control the young genin to ensure that he didn't hurt himself.

Sakura sighed in frustration as she turned to retake her seat. Soon enough the training had come to an end and Gai held Lee who was barely conscious from the strain placed on his body. Sakura could only shake her head at Lee. He was so willing to push himself beyond what he should have been capable of to achieve his dream. He reminded her of Naruto in that regard.

'What's keeping me from doing the same?' Sakura thought as she walked over to check on Lee once again.

"He'll be okay Gai-sensei. He just pushed himself too far once again." Sakura said as she found nothing wrong with Lee aside from a few strained muscles.

"Yosh! You are truly a valuable comrade Sakura-san! I am sure that you will one day be able to rival Tsunade-sama with your medical prowess." Gai said as he took off in a run.

'Rival Tsunade-sama? That's an insane idea. I'm nowhere close to being as competent as the Hokage.'

'Still what's to stop me from trying? Naruto believes he will be Hokage one day. Lee believes that he will become one of the greatest ninja in Konoha through Taijutsu alone. What's to stop me from believing that I'll be on par with Tsunade-sama one day? The only question is if I have the will and determination to make it happen.' Sakura thought. She stopped walking home as she came to a decision. She turned and began walking towards the hospital. There was no way she could just suddenly ask The Hokage to accept her as an apprentice without any experience. She would start from the bottom up and volunteer at the hospital.

'I'll do it! One day I'll become a medic-ninja that will be able to rival Tsunade-sama! I will never be a burden again!' Sakura thought as her life took on a new ambition.

**(Kurenai's home)**

Kurenai was busy preparing everything for what was to come. She couldn't help but feel slightly nervous and had to mentally take a deep breath.

'Calm down Kurenai. You'll get through this.' She thought as she was finally sure that everything was prepared when the doorbell rang.

'Show time.' She thought as she went to answer the door.

Kakashi was waiting with a bouquet of flowers in hand. There were crimson red like her eyes and she graciously accepted them as she took in his attire. Kakashi wore stylish black pants with a button up silver shirt that was the same color as his head.

"Good evening Kurenai. May I come in?" He asked with a smile.

"By all means Kakashi." She said as she let him in. Kakashi walked in her home as she went to put the flowers in a vase. While she walked away Kakashi took the time to admire the short red dress she wore that brought out her long toned legs and showed a large but not indecent amount of cleavage.

'I can't believe that I'm about to finally get that three course dinner I was promised.' Kakashi thought happily as he took off his mask.

Even now taking off his mask was not something he was comfortable with doing. He had always worn it since he was young and his father had killed himself. It was a way to physically retreat from others as they wouldn't be able to tell exactly what he was feeling. He didn't have to worry about anyone asking him if he was upset about his father's death or how he was coping. He didn't have to worry about people seeing weakness in him. Over time he had become somewhat dependant on the mask and even wore a second over the first which had a slit in it so that he could eat without taking the masks off.

However, with Kurenai it was different. He didn't feel the need to hide from her. She could accept his weakness and would not judge him for it. It was a very comforting feeling.

"It's still a bit strange seeing you without that mask on all the time."

Kakashi noticed that he had been staring off into space for some time and Kurenai was now in front of him with a smile on her face.

"It actually feels liberating. I always wear my mask even when I go to sleep." He replied as he walked to her table and held her chair out for her. Kurenai graciously accepted.

'And who says that chivalry is dead.' She thought pleasantly as she replied to his earlier statement.

"You always wear it? Then I guess I should feel honor that you take it off around me?" She said jokingly.

"Honored? Hmm maybe." He said nonchalantly as he took his own seat and they began to eat. Kakashi had been to many different places and had tried dozens of chef's cooking and he still believed that Kurenai's was the best he had ever tasted.

As the dinner continued on they partook in light conversation as they simply enjoyed the atmosphere and each other's company. Naruto and Hinata were out on a date of their own so they didn't have to worry about being interrupted. Soon enough the food was gone and Kakashi actually helped her clean the dishes. The domestic feel of such a simple task was both strange and utterly welcome to both of them.

Soon they found themselves on the couch and Kurenai was wrapped in Kakashi's arms as they watched the small fire in her fire place warm the room. Neither spoke as there was no need for words. Kurenai then turned to Kakashi and kissed his gently on the lips. The famed copy ninja responded immediately as his hands began to slowly run down Kurenai's sides until they settled on the small of her back. Kurenai deepened the kiss as he hands began to slowly caress Kakashi's chest through his shirt. Kakashi broke the kiss and began to kiss and nibble her long neck. Kurenai let out a small moan and only spurred Kakashi on as his hands caressed her back. They began to run up her back and came to rest on her shoulders and the straps of her dress. Kakashi looked into Kurenai's eyes and her smile told him that it was okay to continue. He began to lower the straps that held the dress onto her body when there was a knock at the door.

'You've got to be kidding me!' they both thought angrily. Kurenai seemed prepared to ignore it until it began again louder than before.

"I'll get it." Kurenai all but snarled as she left the comfort of Kakashi's arms to answer the door. Kakashi could only throw his head back in exasperation at being interrupted once again.

'What have I done to deserve this?' Kakashi thought as he tried to calm his racing heart.

Kurenai marched to her door while fixing her dress fully prepared to release her pent up anger at being disturbed on whoever was at her door. She opened the door and was faced with her best friend Anko. Kurenai was still prepared to yell at the younger woman until she saw the strange look on Anko's face.

"Anko what is it?" She asked.

"Hey Kurenai! I was just stopping by to see you." She said a bit awkwardly before she fully took in what Kurenai was wearing.

"Who is it Kurenai?" Kakashi called out from the couch. He would have gotten up to check but he didn't have his mask on and Kurenai was really the only person he would allow to see his face.

"It's just Anko, Kakashi." Kurenai called back as she turned to look at her friend. She saw a pained expression on Anko's face before it was covered up with a fake smile that reminded Kurenai a lot of Naruto's.

"Anko is something wrong?" Kurenai asked with concern. Anko had not hid behind a fake smile in months. Something must have gone seriously wrong for her to do it now.

"No not a thing. Sorry for disturbing the two of you." Anko said as she quickly turned and left.

Kurenai was concerned for her friend but knew that if Anko didn't want to talk about something then it was all but impossible to get it out of her. Kurenai returned to the couch and sat with Kakashi once again. Kakashi was seriously hoping that they could resume what they had been doing earlier but could tell that the moment had passed and that Kurenai now had a lot on her mind. Still he accepted this and simply pulled her into a comforting hug as he silently cursed the lost opportunity.

'Oh well, it'll happen again soon enough. I can't help but worry about Anko.' He thought.

**(Anko's apartment)**

Anko rushed into her apartment and slammed the door shut before she fell to the ground with a sob. Anko hated feeling weak and vulnerable but that was exactly what was going through her after what she had witnessed at Kurenai's. Anko was going around and trying to at least get one final glimpse of everyone that was important to her before she left the village. However, seeing Kurenai and Kakashi together and happy sent a blade through her heart as she realized that she would never be able to have such happiness again without Iruka.

'It's for his own good. I'm too dangerous to be around.' Anko thought as she got to her feet and shakily began to round up her possessions. She couldn't take everything, nor did she want to. However, she was able to gather the essentials and that would have to be enough.

Anko didn't care that what she was doing was treason. She didn't care that she would become a missing ninja and hunted down by the village. Without her friends she was truly alone, something that terrified her beyond anything that Orochimaru could have done.

'It's for the best. I'm too dangerous to be around.' Anko continually thought sadly as she walked to her door and prepared to leave the village for good.

However, she was stopped when she opened the door and saw Iruka standing there.

"W-what are you doing here?" Anko asked with a stunned expression. Iruka shouldn't have been out of the hospital yet. That much was obvious as his breathing was still slightly labored showing that he hadn't yet fully recovered from his injuries.

"Where are you going Anko-chan?" He asked solemnly, ignoring her question.

"Where ever I want to! Get out of my way!" She shouted angrily. This wasn't going as planned. She hadn't expected Iruka to leave the hospital so soon nor did she expect to see him ever again. She had to make him leave quickly before she lost her resolve. It was for the best in her mind that she leave and that he never saw her again.

"You expect me to leave after hearing everything you said to me earlier?" Iruka said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Y-you heard me?" Anko said with a cold feeling running down her spine.

"I'll never have to deal with you anymore? What did you mean Anko-chan?" Iruka asked as he walked in and shut the door behind him. Anko had backed up a step for every one he took towards her and she now felt trapped. She had to get away soon and she could only think of one thing that would make him leave.

"What do you think it means? I'm done with you Iruka. It was fun while it lasted but this is never going to work out between us. I need a real man and you simply don't measure up." She said with a cruel smile as her heart broke slightly at the words she spoke.

'This is for the best Iruka-kun. Forget about me and find yourself someone else.' Anko thought. She had to leave. She would only hurt him again if they stayed together and so she would break his heart now so that he wouldn't miss her later on.

"You know teaching Naruto for so long makes it very easy for me to spot when someone is trying to hide behind a mask." Iruka said resolutely as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the door. The message was clear and simple. He wasn't going to leave without her explaining herself first.

"Leave now!" Anko snarled at him I anger. He was being stubborn when she was just trying to help him. It was actually making her slightly angry.

"Not until you explain why you sounded like you were saying goodbye for good and why you currently have all of your important possessions bagged up. Are you planning on going somewhere?" Iruka said though his expression showed that he had already figured out what she had been planning to do and was very upset with her.

"If you know so much then why don't you figure it out? But for the last time I want you out of my home before I hurt you!" Anko said as she summoned two snakes out of her coat sleeves. The serpents hissed and venom began to drip from their fangs. Anko kept a fierce expression on her face even as she mentally cursed herself for having to resort to such tactics against the man she cared for so deeply.

However, Iruka didn't leave, nor did he respond to her previous statement. Strangely enough he began to slowly walk towards her. He was completely ignoring the serpents that were already hissing their warnings to the man. He continued on and actually walked past them until he was nose to nose with Anko. Iruka had been with her long enough to know that while the snakes looked dangerous, they wouldn't strike without a mental command from Anko. He had been willing to bet that she wasn't going to go that far to push him away.

Iruka was many things but ignorant wasn't one of them. He could already see the signs in Anko that had been evident in Naruto for so many years that he taught him. Iruka could see just form her eyes how much she was hurting from the invasion's events and knew that she was trying to pull away from those she loved. He wasn't about to let that happen.

"As I said, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why you are trying to leave the village, your friends, and me behind." Iruka said as his expression became caring.

Anko dropped her arms as the serpents wound themselves back into her sleeves. Why did he have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't he see that she was nothing but trouble? Why was she secretly so happy that he showed up to stop her?

"Why can't you just let me go? It would be better for everyone." Anko said softly as she looked towards the floor, unable to meet his eyes.

"No it wouldn't, I need you with me." Iruka said softly as he tried to wrap her in a hug. She moved back from the comforting gesture though she desperately wanted to give in to it. However, she couldn't allow that to happen. She had to stay determined and make him see that it was for the best.

"No you really don't. All you'll gain is more pain and suffering if you're around me. Please just leave and let me go." Anko said as she met his eyes. She immediately wished she hadn't as she quickly became lost in his brown eyes.

"No." He said simply as he wrapped his arms around her and refused to let her go. She struggled briefly before she simply gave in. Despite her brain telling her that she needed to leave him to keep him safe, her heart had other ideas and was content to be selfish and cling to him.

"How can you still look me in the eye like this? I killed three konoha shinobi with my own two hands. I watched as the life drained from their eyes as I was used as a weapon for Orochimaru. I even attacked you and had it not been for Tsunade-sama being there, you would have died as well." Anko said as tears began falling from her eyes.

"That wasn't you. You could have easily killed me but you didn't. You can't blame yourself for something that is out of your control. Orochimaru used you to harm others. He's dead now Anko-chan, don't allow him to continue to ruin your life." Iruka said to her.

"I'm afraid Iruka-kun. Ever since I escaped from him and lost most of my memories I was always looked at like I was a traitor. People were always on the lookout as if trying to figure out when I would snap or if I was a double agent. Truthfully I wondered that myself many nights. I worked for years to prove them, and myself wrong and in one fell swoop it was all over. How can I trust myself anymore? Who's to say that Orochimaru didn't plant something else in my head that will show up sometime in the future! I can't take the chance that I may hurt you or someone else close to me! You've got to let me go!" Anko shouted as she began to struggle in Iruka's arms.

"As ninja out lives could end at any time. It could be tomorrow, it could be months or years from now, there's no way of knowing. However, there is one thing that I do know and that is that I want to spend all the time I have left with you no matter what." Iruka said as he gently let Anko go, grabbed her hand and knelt on one knee. Anko's breath stopped short when Iruka reached into his pocket and pulled out a small case that he opened to reveal a small but beautifully cut diamond ring.

"Anko Mitarashi will you marry me?" Iruka asked with a small smile.

Anko brain had effectively shut off once Iruka spoke that simple but beautiful question. She couldn't believe it. After everything that had happened. After she stabbed him in his chest and nearly killed him. He still wanted to be with her and he was actually proposing to her so that they could be together for life! Still, Anko was afraid of herself and what she might do one day. How did she know that things were going to work out? How could she be sure that she wouldn't snap again and go on a rampage? How could she be sure that he wouldn't one day tire of her and find someone less damaged and with less emotional baggage?

"W-we've only been dating for a few months." She stuttered softly as she gazed into his eyes searching for any shred of doubt or deceit. She found neither.

"I don't care. As ninja our life spans may not be that long. I don't want to waste anymore time especially since I found the one I want to be with for the rest of my life." He said, his smile never leaving his face.

"I-I could still snap again." She said as she felt her defenses slowly withering to nothing.

"And I could die tomorrow form some rare disease. We can't predict the future Anko-chan but I do know that I want you for as long as I can have you." He replied.

"It won't be easy being married to me. I've got a lot of emotional baggage." She said softly as she felt her last wall crumble.

"Nothing in life worth having is ever easy but it's always worth it in the end. Ever ninja has some kind of baggage. Let me help you carry yours until you're ready to throw it away. I'm not going to leave Anko-chan no matter what. Even if you refuse to marry me I will always be there for you." Iruka said as he opened his heart completely to her.

Anko opened her mouth to try and find something else to say but it was of no use. She could think of nothing else and truthfully she was done trying to run away. In a flash she saw what her life would be like without her friends in it. It would be a cold, dark, self-destructive place and she wanted no part of it. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Iruka strongly enough to crush the air out of his lungs.

"I-is this a yes?" Iruka asked with a happy smile.

"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you." She said as her tears began again, but this time they were tears of joy as they sealed their engagement with a soul warming kiss.

**(One month later)**

The ceremony was beautiful, if a little small. The village was still trying to rebuild after the latest invasion so it was impossible for the entire populace to attend. This was just fine for the bride and groom as neither of them wanted a big wedding. The ceremony was held in a beautiful field surrounded by flowers. Iruka had chosen Naruto to be his best man while Kurenai was the maid of honor. Tsunade had found the time to come out and wed the two ninja. She was very happy that something good had come out of the pain and suffering of the previous battle and wished them the best of luck before she had to return to the tower to continue overseeing the construction of the village.

Currently, the reception was taking place in a small building that was picked out by Tsunade for its close proximity to the field itself as well as being close to the market solving any food concerns.

"I can't believe you go married so soon nii-san." Naruto commented to the smiling groom. Iruka hadn't stopped smiling since he had uttered "I do" and heard the same come from the beautifully dressed Anko.

"We're ninja Naruto. Who's to say that I won't die tomorrow on a mission? Anko is a jonin thus her missions will be even more deadly. Learn this Naruto. Don't waste time worrying or wondering what could have been. The past is history, tomorrow is a mystery but you need to enjoy today, that's why it's called the present." Iruka was with a smile as he walked over to have another dance with his wife.

Naruto was left thinking about what Iruka had said when Hinata hugged him from behind. She had been one of Anko's bridesmaids and was wearing a beautiful kimono. Naruto smiled as he pulled her close and began to dance with her as well. He looked over to see Kakashi and Kurenai dancing as well. In fact most of the genin were present with their dates and were currently dancing. Naruto smiled as he looked down at Hinata and wondered when they would be the ones to stand before one another and declare their undying love and commitment to one another by taking the final plunge into marriage.

'Oh well it's like Nii-san said, the future is a mystery. For right now, I'm going to enjoy living in the present.' Naruto thought as he held her close and simply enjoyed the moment.

Iruka danced with Anko and couldn't believe his good fortune. After his parents had died he had always sought attention from others until he decided that it was pointless. Iruka become reserved and focused on his ninja career. After reaching the rank of chunin he decided that he was content with his advancement. He taught at the academy as he truly liked working with and helping children. He never forsaw himself actually finding a woman to date and settle down with so having his own children was out of the question. He couldn't believe that things had changed so quickly and it was Anko, the sexy, beautiful and deadly Anko that he held in his arms as his wife.

'Wife. I can't believe that this has really happened.' Iruka thought happily as Anko, who had been allowing him to guide the pace of the dance decided to take control.

Anko was, for lack of a better term, giddy with joy. She was never one of those girls that thought constantly of finding their prince charming to sweep them off their feet. Anko was a practical and realistic woman. She had always thought that getting married and being bound to a single man for the rest of her life was crazy. She never saw herself as one of those girls and yet here she was smiling and holding her husband as her friends and family were present. It gave her an indescribable feeling of happiness that she never thought she would be able to obtain after being caste away by Orochimaru.

'I can't believe that I tried to walk away from this. That's not a mistake that I'm going to try and make ever again! This is almost perfect there's just one thing missing.' She thought as she looked down at her wedding ring and smiled at her husband.

'Well, we'll get to that once everyone heads home after the reception.' She thought with a sensual smirk that excited Iruka as he knew what she had on her mind. This was further made evident when she molded her body to his and felt his arousal. She leaned in close to purr into his ear.

"I hope you're ready for your wedding night Iruka-kun." She said and could feel the shudder run down Iruka's body.

"I think the reception can be cut a bit short Anko-chan." He replied as he kissed her deeply.

The reception didn't last for very much longer.

**(A few hours later)**

They entered Iruka's house, both still riding high on the elation they felt at being married. Anko, always the more forward of the two, took the initiative and grabbed Iruka's hand to guide him to the bedroom. This wasn't the first time that they had slept together but it would be the first time they did so as husband and wife.

**(Lemon warning: Skip if you don't want to read)**

Anko guided Iruka to their bedroom and literally kicked the door in. She immediately pulled him towards her and deeply kissed him. Iruka, used to Anko's forwardness, wrapped his arms around her and allowed his hands to wander along her back. Anko's impatience once again appeared as she gripped his haori and swiftly removed it. Before Iruka could make a move Anko had already opened his black formal kimono and was using her fingertips to gently rub his chest.

Iruka broke the kiss with a gasp and gently gripped her wandering hands. When Anko looked up at him in slight confusion he smiled and leaned in close to her.

"There's no need to rush my wife. We have the rest of our lives. Let's take it slow tonight." He said to her as he went ahead and finished removing his kimono top. This left Iruka naked from the waist up with him only wearing his hakama pants.

Anko shivered slightly at both the sight of the half naked Iruka as well as the way he called her his wife. It was still a joyous feeling and she understood that tonight was not to be a night of lust but also of love and affection. She took of the belt of her wedding kimono and was about to remove it until Iruka walked to her and gently did it for her. This left Anko only in her undergarments and the fire she could see in Iruka's eyes warmed her.

"You are so beautiful." Iruka said softly as he kissed her once again. Her hands rested on Iruka's chest once again but this time Iruka was also touching her. His hands started on her firm toned abs and slowly moved up her body towards her bra clad chest. She was shivering in pleasure from his gentle yet firm hands on her skin. She gasped in surprise and pleasure when Iruka broke the kiss and began to kiss and suckle her neck.

Iruka's hands weren't idle and had finally reached their destination. He softly trialed over her satin covered breasts before moving his hands to her back to unhook her bra. He backed away as he removed the obstruction and could only stare at her perfectly round globes. Her light pink nipples stood firm and erect, begging for his attention. Anko decided to break the silence by sliding down her white satin panties, leaving her gloriously naked before him.

"You seem to have too many cloths on, my husband." Anko all but purred. Iruka was snapped out of his thoughts by her comment and sought to rectify that situation. He swiftly removed his pants and boxers until like Anko he was completely naked as well.

This wasn't the first time that they had seen each other naked but it _felt_ as if they were truly seeing one another for the first time. Anko took the lead and sensually sauntered over to Iruka. She gave him a passionate kiss before lightly shoving him back until he fell on the bed. Anko got on all fours and slowly made her way towards him until they were face to face. Iruka pulled her down until their bodies lay flush against one another. Iruka groaned into her neck at the exquisite feeling of her breasts massed against his hard chest and his arousal trapped against her belly. Anko felt a powerful heat spreading across her body and centering at her sex.

This was something that she had never had but always wanted. Anko had been with men before but it was never like this. Those were simply opportunities to forget for a night that she was alone and had no one truly special to her. They were actions of lust only while this was something monumentally different. Anko gasped as Iruka quickly spun so that he was now above her and the amount of love and lust in his eyes made her heart flutter.

Iruka gazed down at his wife. Even now the oh so simple word meant so much to him. This was the woman he would be with for the rest of his life, no matter how long or short it was. Iruka hadn't been with many women in his life simply because it wasn't who he was. Iruka had never been one who sought out another person simply for sex. Sure there were a few times when he had gotten really drunk but those were few and far between. Iuka needed more than just physical pleasure. He needed a deeper connection and he had finally found it with Anko.

Iruka stopped thinking and decided to show Anko just how much he loved her. He kissed her once again and cupped her full breasts. He broke the kiss as she let out a pleased moan of his name. He desperately wanted to hear his name spoken that way again and quickly began to kiss down her body. He lightly licked around her left nipple before taking it into his warm mouth. Anko once again moaned his name as she wrapped her hands around his head to keep him in place. She desperately wanted to feel more from his masterful tongue and lips. His hands soon began to move as well. His left hand cupped her right breast and his fingers began to tug and twist her nipple, not wanting it to be left unattended to. His right hand slowly began trace down her body until it reached her sacred area.

Anko began to twist and squirm under him and gave a light shriek of pleasure as he rubbed the lips of her sex and found them wet with her arousal. Anko gave a low hiss of pleasure as Iruka slowly entered her with one of his fingers. His thumb began to trace around her clitoris while he pumped his finger in and out her hot core. Anko began to whimper and moan in ecstasy as he switch nipples and took her right one in his mouth. He added a second finger and they soon found her special spot within her inner walls. As he began to rub against the firm module of nerve endings Anko arched into him with a sharp outcry. She moaned and continued to twitch as Iruka continued to stroke the fire within her until it was an all encompassing inferno desperately seeking relief.

"Iruka-kun." Was the only thing coming from her lips and soon enough she felt white hot pleasure erupt from her core and wash over her entire body from her head to her toes. She cried out loudly as her body clung to Iruka in pleasure. Iruka had moved from her chest to lovingly observe her face as she reached the pinnacle of ecstasy. He guided her back down and laid a short but sweet kiss to her lips. Anko's vision cleared and she was not surprised to actually find tears in her eyes from the beautiful act they found themselves in. This was what she had always wanted.

Anko took charge once again and twisted so that she was on top of Iruka. She gazed lovingly at his hard muscles and began to kiss his abs. She could feel him twitch under her and smiled at his sharp intake of breath when she grabbed his length and began to slowly stroke it. Anko was delighted at the way he moan her name as she began to stroke ever faster. She stopped suddenly and he looked at her in a beseeching fashion, desperate for more. Anko smiled as she lifted her body onto her knees and guided his length to her core. Their eyes never left one another's as she slowly lowered her body and her nether lips parted around his length.

They both gasped as nothing could compare to the feeling of completeness that settled over them. Iruka grit his teeth and was desperately trying to control the urge to thrust deeper into the moist warmth that enveloped him. Anko could feel every detail of Iruka's hardness inside of her and marveled at how they fit together so perfectly.

Neither spoke as Anko raised herself slowly and lowered onto him again. Iruka moaned as his hands moved to rest on her hips and help guide their pace. Anko slowly began to move ever faster as she moaned and gasped at the indescribable pleasure being sent through her body. Iruka was in the same position as he thoroughly enjoyed the way that his hard flesh continued to move within her.

Their movements were both primal and fluid. Anko had always thought that sex was about power. However, her coupling with Iruka proved this to be false. Both were in charge and at the same time neither of them was. Hands roamed everywhere, exploring, caressing, and discovering. The world faded into a blur of heat, passion and love as they continued to move together, both seeking their peak but also seeking to bring as much pleasure to the other as possible.

Iruka rolled over so that he was on top and continued to thrust powerfully into Anko. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him ever deeper into her burning hot core. Iruka moved down and took Anko's right breast in his mouth while one of his hands cupped the other full globe and his remaining hand moved between them to stimulate her clit. Anko cried out as the intense and various stimuli served to once again send her over the edge and this time with Iruka with her. Iruka cried out in pleasure as well as he reached his peak and flooded his seed into her and filled her in the deepest and most sacred of places.

**(Lemon end)**

Iruka rolled to the side and pulled Anko to him. Both were contently tired out and had ended their most important day with an incredibly special night.

"I love you Anko-chan." Iruka murmured.

"And I you Iruka-kun." She whispered as tears continued to flow from her eyes.

They fell asleep snuggled together and both with large smiles on their faces. It truly was a perfect day.

**(Hidden base)**

Itachi and Kisame stood as the projections of the other members of their organization appeared.

"I still find it hard to believe that you were defeated again Itachi. I am beginning to question your abilities." The leader said in a sharp tone.

"Hinata Yuhi displayed powers and abilities both similar and yet different from Naruto's. I would not have been able to use my full power against her as reinforcements were on the way. The next time we meet, things will go much differently." Itachi said calmly, not at all afraid.

"See that they do not." The leader said harshly with a glare.

"Leader-sama, what do you want us to do now? We could go after the brat again." Kisame said, trying to divert the leader's attention away from his partner.

"No, we will lay low for the time being and watch how events unfold. Konoha is very weak at the moment and no doubt the rock and lightening villages are thinking about exploiting this possibility. It is not yet time to implement our plan. Thus continue to track the biju you were assigned and await further orders. That is all." The leader ordered as his and the other Akatsuki member's projections disappeared.

"Well that was close. You need to be more careful my friend. Leader doesn't like the way you stand up to him." Kisame said to his partner. Kisame actually liked having Itachi as a partner and didn't want to have to be assigned another should the Leader decide that Itahci was more trouble than he was worth.

"Your concern is unnecessary Kisame. We will redeem ourselves once we capture the kyuubi container and his little girlfriend." Itachi said calmly.

"How did that little girl drive you off anyway?" Kisame asked a bit confused as Itachi had never really explained how their fight had taken place.

"I intend to figure that out." Itachi said in a dangerous tone as he turned to leave the cave.

Kisame smiled revealing his sharp shark like teeth and chuckled. Itachi seemed to be upset, that meant that things were about to get very interesting.

**(End)**

**Here's chapter 56! Sorry for the long wait but I was having a hard time writing the lemon. How did you like it by the way? It was my first attempt at a lemon and would like your opinion. Anyway, next chapter will deal with the consequences that Hiashi has long sense been due! Who will bring him down? How will it happen? Will Tsunade ever figure out the mysterious man's identity? That is a secret! **

**Till next time Kyuubi123 out!**


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

**(Training field)**

Naruto and Hinata sat on the ground awaiting their teacher's arrival. Jiraiya was still stuck in the hospital so the mysterious man was going to proceed and begin to train the two in harnessing divine chakra.

"Darn it where is he?" Naruto shouted in annoyance. They had been waiting for an hour already and he was not the most patient of people when training was on the line.

Hinata smiled at Naruto's antics as she pulled out the twin butterfly daggers that the man had given her. They were truly beautiful but she couldn't feel anything close to what Naruto described he felt when he "talked" to his blade. After the initial feeling of greeting she had received from them a month ago she had felt nothing from the blades and it worried her.

This compounded with the strain she was feeling in regards as to what to do about the Hyuga clan. She knew from Tsunade herself that Hiashi's reckoning was coming and that she would only hold off for so long. Naruto was chomping at the bit to tear Hiashi to pieces and the only reason that the two equally infuriated blonds had yet to carry out their intentions was because Hinata begged them to wait and to allow her to handle things.

Tsunade had relented but warned Hinata that she would only have a small amount of time to figure out what she was going to do before Tsunade had Hiashi arrested for treason and likely executed if she could mange. However, despite her claims, things would most likely not go that smoothly.

The Hyuga clan was not going to just allow their clan head to be taken in for treason and Tsunade was still trying to figure out the best way to go about doing it. She didn't want the clan to rebel or worse leave the village all together and should the populace find out about what Hiashi did then it was possible that they would begin to distrust other clans as well which would bring an unwanted strain between clan shinobi and the civilians. It was a complicated problem and as long as Hiashi was the clan head then it was not going to get any easier.

'What am I going to do? I could always invoke the rule that a former heir can challenge the current clan head for their position. However, if I were to do this then I would become the clan head or at least the heir if I choose to allow another Hyuga to take the head position as I am not yet of age. Could I return to the clan? Could I leave Kurenai-nee-san and Naruto-kun like that?' Hinata thought all of this with a somber mood and she felt two arms wrap around her from behind. She smiled as she closed her eyes and leaned into Naruto's chest.

He was easily able to see that she was troubled and wanted to lend her his strength. He wasn't going to pressure her to tell him what she was thinking about as he knew that she would smile and say it was nothing. He would wait for her to either tell him or deal with it herself. No matter what though, she would always have him there to support her.

"Good morning you two!"

Naruto and Hinata turned to look at the mysterious man as he appeared before them.

"It's about time you showed up! Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting for you?" Naruto shouted in frustration.

"If you listened to when I told you to arrive then you should have been here for….. about an hour." He said simply with a chuckle. Naruto growled low in his throat but said nothing as Hinata giggled at their brief exchange.

"Now then it's time for the two of you to get in touch with your power. Naruto you are the one with the most experience so I'll let you demonstrate to Hinata." He said in a serious tone.

Naruto nodded as he pulled out his blade and closed his eyes. He concentrated until he could feel the warm glow that represented the divine chakra derived from the dragons. Naruto began to pull the power to him until he began to glow a golden color. Hinata had never had the time to fully take in how much he changed when he called upon so much divine chakra at once and slowly walked to him as he opened his eyes. They were a deep golden color just like his hair and the black serpentine dragon tattoo was present as the head was once again over his right eye.

Hinata could almost feel the chakra pulsing through him and it resonated within her as she felt a pulse come from her daggers. However, before she could decipher the power that felt both alien and yet familiar to her, Naruto cried out with pain and fell to his knees.

"Naruto-kun!" she cried out as she held him as he passed out.

"Well….that's not a good sign." The man said as he scratched his head.

**(Naruto's Mindscape)**

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself in front of the cage that held the fox. The great demon's eyes were open as if he had been awaiting Naruto's arrival.

"**Been a long time since we met like this kit.**" Kyuubi said as Naruto looked around in confusion.

"What just happened? I haven't felt pain like that since I nearly blew myself up in the forest of death." Naruto said to the fox hoping that it would be able to tell him something.

"**That's not far from what happened. Sit down boy because I have some bad news.**" Kyuubi said as he lay down so that his face was directly in front of Naruto.

"What is it?" Naruto asked as he sat before the great fox. He was well within the range of the fox's claws but had enough faith that Kyuubi was not going to try and kill him, yet.

"**The pain you felt was exactly due to the reason you just gave. What you felt was once again the backlash that occurs when divine and demonic chakra are mixed together.**" Kyuubi said much to Naruto's confusion.

"I don't get it. I wasn't using your chakra when I called on the divine chakra." Naruto stated.

"**Have you forgotten about what happened when your mate was killed? You went berserk and pulled far more of my chakra then you should have been able to. Using two and especially three tails of my chakra should have caused your body to explode from the amount of chakra alone. That we are still alive is a miracle. However, there have been side effects. The seal was placed under an unimaginable amount of strain and had to compensate in some way. It did this by allowing more of my chakra to pass through into your own.**" Kyuubi said as he stared at Naruto. Naruto seemed slightly confused until the meaning became somewhat clear. Kyuubi decided to make everything clear.

"**Currently, my chakra is being filtered into your system much faster and at a larger rate than before. When you use the divine chakra it reacts negatively to the presence of the demonic chakra and the feedback can be quite debilitating as you just experienced.**" He said.

"But what about before all this happened? The seal should have been filtering your chakra into me all along. Why didn't I feel this pain before?" Naruto asked as the grim news began to settle on him.

"**The seal now allows quite a bit more of my chakra to be filtered through. Before, the trace amount of demonic chakra was small enough that you wouldn't feel the negative feedback. However, now it seems that your chakra system has become used to handling larger quantities of demonic chakra and the seal is allowing much more to be sent through as it is not causing harm to your system.**" He further elaborated.

"You got any idea on how I can fix this?" Naruto asked in a worried tone as the reality that he might not be able to safely call upon the power of the dragons became clear to him.

"**That's something that you will need to ask **_**him**_** when you wake back up.**" Kyuubi said with a small growl.

Naruto caught the fox's ire and knew that is was directed at the strange and secretive man. He wondered what the history between them could be as he left his mindscape.

**(Training Field)**

Naruto awoke to Hinata's concerned face and as he reassured her that he was alright, he told both Hinata and the man about what the fox had told him. Hinata looked concerned about the development while the man simply spoke in a tone that let Naruto know that he had at least guessed that this complication would arise.

"Really, well that's unfortunate." He said softly.

"Kyuubi said that you may know of a way to help." Naruto said in a bit of fear. He didn't want to lose the ability to summon the dragons.

"The best way to go about that would be for you to mentally force the demonic chakra back long enough for you to access the divine chakra." He stated after a moment of thought.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"I think I understand Naruto-kun. He wants you to do what you did earlier when you tried to connect with the divine chakra but to sense the demonic chakra as well. Instead of drawing the demonic chakra like you'll do the divine chakra, you must restrict the flow of demonic chakra being sent into your system." Hinata explained.

"That's not going to be easy." Naruto muttered to himself.

"Nothing in life worth doing ever is." The man said in his jovial tone. Naruto sighed in annoyance as he closed his eyes to concentrate once again.

"Hinata while he does that, why don't you try to call upon the power of the angels?" The man commented as they both saw Naruto glow red for a moment before the glow became golden. He stopped meditating quickly with a pant of exhaustion.

"Yeah, this is going to be tough." Naruto said as he closed his eyes and tried again.

Hinata squeezed his shoulder and gave him a small peck on the cheek before standing up and walking away. She wouldn't be able to concentrate with Naruto so close to her. He was a natural distraction for her and she knew she would need her utmost focus to achieve what she had done against Itachi.

Hinata sat in a meditative stance and closed her eyes. She could still hear Naruto try, and fail, to simultaneously restrict his demonic chakra and allow his divine chakra to flow. Hinata forced herself to block it out as she concentrated. She felt the world fade away as she concentrated on trying to summon up and control the powerful gift that she had been given or reasons yet to be revealed.

Hinata wasn't sure what she was searching for as the last time she tapped into that power she had done it purely by instinct. She continued to concentrate on anything that seemed new or strange to her and finally she found it. It was like spotting a small speck of light in a dark tunnel. As she focused on it she felt a strange feeling overtake her and flood her body. She gasped at the rush of power and had to take a moment to compose herself. Once this was done she found herself floating in the same white void that she had been in when she had died not very long ago.

"**It's good to hear from you again young Hinata.**"

Hinata turned and saw a woman cloaked in a pure as snow white robe. Hinata could instinctively tell that this was the same woman that had spoken to her a few months prior and was both relieved and a bit apprehensive to be speaking with her once again.

"You saved me." Hinata said in a tone that expressed that this was a statement and not a question.

"**That I did, you're welcome by the way.**" The female responded a bit amused.

"Who are you?" Hinata asked as she sought to learn more about her savior.

"**Does it really matter? All that you really need to know is that you were saved for a purpose and that I am here to help you succeed.**"

"For what purpose did you save me? Is it to help Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as the woman began to walk towards her.

"**I'm so fortunate to have such an intelligent ward.**" The woman said as she removed her cloak.

Hinata did not recognize the woman. Her skin was even paler than Hinata's own and yet it seemed to glow with warmth. Her hair was as white as snow and her eyes were a piercing gold. Hinata noticed that the strange markings on her skin were similar to the ones of the woman.

"**Unlike that idiot on earth that was tasked with helping your boyfriend, I have nothing to hide with my identity. Call me what you will as my true name is not for human ears.**" She replied to the stunned Hinata.

"Um a name? May I then call you Hitomi?" Hinata asked softly.

"**The name of your mother, I am honored that you would seek to refer to me as such.**" Hitomi said with a smile.

"**Enough with the formalities though. You are here because you seek to learn to harness the power of the angels. For this to take place you must first earn the trust of your butterfly daggers. You have yet to feel or hear from them as they are still attempting to discern whether or not you are worthy to wield them.**" Hitomi said as if she were reading Hinata's mind.

"How do I do that?" Hinata asked as she desperately sought information on how to grow stronger.

"**They will hold a test for you but what this test is even I do not know for it is up to them to decide. However until they pose this challenge I can at least help you learn the basics of your new powers. The daggers may not respond to you just yet but that won't stop you from being able to learn to control the divine chakra.**" Hitomi said as she crossed her legs and began to float.

"Will you ever manifest yourself in the physical world as Naruto-kun's helper does?" Hinata asked as she took up the same position and began to float.

"**No, he was given special privileges to do that. I will be able to instruct you and advice you on what to do but I cannot directly affect the outside world.**" She said as she began to softly chant. Hinata's special markings began to glow and she felt a rush of power come over her.

"**This is you first taste of power that you can remember as you were not fully in control of yourself when you used it before. We will start your training now Hinata.**" Hitomi said as she began to glow an ethereal white.

**(With Naruto)**

Naruto groaned in annoyance as he once again lost control over the divine chakra. He felt the terrible burning sensation from within that revealed the clashing of divine and demonic chakra.

"Hmm, it seems you can only hold control over the divine chakra and repress your demonic chakra for around two minutes." The man said off handily as he sat on a branch above Naruto.

"You could help you know!" Naruto growled in annoyance. He took a moment to look over to where Hinata had walked and saw her floating in the air with a white glow around her body. The faint markings on her body were glowing as well.

"It seems she is learning how to harness her power. Regardless that doesn't concern you right now. Even though your control over the divine chakra isn't perfected just yet you can still hold it long enough to summon up a dragon. You should try summoning Drac to begin with." The man said as he ignored Naruto's earlier rant. Naruto gave a grunt of irritation before trying to call upon the divine chakra once again.

It wasn't easy. Attempting to draw upon one power while restricting another all at once was nearly impossible to maintain, hence why he could only hold onto his ascended state for roughly two minutes currently. Naruto took a deep breath and began to push back on the demonic chakra leaking from the seal. As it was repressed he felt the telltale power from the dragons overtake him.

"Come forth: Drac!" Naruto shouted as he thrust he sword towards the sky and a golden beam of light shout up.

It wasn't long before they heard the roar of the dragon lord of fire and Drac began to appear in the distance. As he approached Naruto could see some changes in him. Drac seemed larger than before and his red scales had taken on a darker tone and seemed to bulk out around his chest area giving the look of something close to a chest plate of armor. Also, two think horns were growing from his head. All in all, Drac appeared far more fearsome than he had just a few months prior.

"It seems that Drac is going through a growth spurt." The man said softly.

"**Hello Naruto.**" Drac said after giving a significant look to the man.

"What's up Drac. You got bigger." Naruto said in a bit of wonder.

"**I told you that I was a young dragon relative to my other family members. Also, it seems that being summoned to the mortal realm after so long allowed me to draw upon the natural fire chakra in the world.**" Drac commented as he settled to the ground and looked down at his summoner.

"**Why have you summoned me Naruto?**" Drac asked in curiosity.

"I would like for you to tell me more about your family and what I can expect from each member. Also, this was kind of a test to see if I could consciously summon a dragon of my choice." Naruto said the last sentence with a sheepish smile.

"**It doesn't really matter to me as I do enjoy returning to this world. However, I cannot help you with your request.**" Drac said seriously.

"Why not?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"**My brothers and sisters feel that if you want to know more about them than you should summon them and ask directly. They forbade me from telling you about them.**" Drac said in a serious tone letting Naruto know that he would not budge from his declaration.

"I understand." Naruto said as he gave a grunt of pain and was forced to release the divine chakra coursing through his system as his time limit was up and he couldn't hold back the demonic chakra any longer.

"**You seem to have a problem wielding our power. That is very unfortunate and you will need to work on that before I can teach you.**" Drac said with a sigh of annoyance.

"Teach me? Teach me what?" Naruto asked.

"**Every dragon is a lord over an element. This being the case, we can teach you how to wield these elements to a lesser degree. However, you must be able to harness the divine chakra from your blade to utilize these powers.**" Drac said as his ruby red eyes stared at Naruto with a hint of agitation and accusation.

"Why are you looking at me like that Drac? Have I done something to anger you?" Naruto asked with a bit of annoyance in his voice. Drac had always been a laid back guy, at least for the amount of time that Naruto had known him. However, it seemed that Drac was being very short and a bit angry with him.

"…**I am sorry Naruto. It's just that many of my brothers do not agree that you are worthy to call upon us. I have been defending you along with Tetsuya. However, they are adamant that you will fail to prove yourself worthy while I have faith in you. I hope that faith is not misplaced. When you can better control the warring powers within you then call upon me once again. Until then, take care.**" Drac said as he rose in the air with a single flap of his massive wings and took our in the air until he disappeared in a flash of light.

"Well that got me nowhere." Naruto raged as he punched the ground in frustration at his predicament.

"Yes, it seems that the other dragons are not very friendly towards you. You will definitely need to train harder before you attempt to draw them forth. The others will not be as accommodating to your recent struggles." The man said nonchalantly.

'Great. Just great.' Naruto thought in annoyance as he got back in a meditative position and tried again.

**(One week later)**

A week had passed and both Naruto and Hinata were running into problems with their training. Naruto was unable to hold onto the divine chakra for longer than two minutes and Hinata, while able to call upon her power, was unable to communicate with her daggers and according to Hitomi, this would inhibit her progress. The mysterious man was of no help as he told them that there wasn't much he could do to help them, though Naruto had his suspicions about this statement.

There was a bright side to all of this though and that was that Jiraiya had finally been cleared to leave the hospital. He would forever have a slight limp and some of the toxins Orochimaru injected him with couldn't be completely cured, thus he would be severely weakened physically. All in all, Jiraiya told Tsunade that he would probably only be able to fight at around one half of his full strength for the rest of his life.

Despite this, Jiraiya had joined the trio and immediately helped Naruto and Hinata. While they couldn't yet improve with their secondary powers, they could improve their bases abilities. In Jiraiya's opinion, Naruto was at least a high chunin and Hinata a low chunin in terms of abilities. Jiraiya was determined to improve upon these abilities and quickly began to teach them what he knew. Strangely enough the mysterious man was always present and would add insight and advice for new techniques.

Naruto and Hinata were now walking to Ichiraku ramen stand for a brief lunch before returning to training. They looked around their village and could see how things had changed. Orochimaru's last attack had hurt the village. It was now roughly at only half of its original strength and most of the jounin, including Kakashi and Kurenai, were out of the village performing missions to keep up appearances that Konoha was still powerful enough to be considered the best of the hidden villages.

"Hey there you two." Ayame said cheerfully as they entered and sat down to eat.

"Hey Ayame. We'll take the usual." Naruto said with a smile as he thought about the delicious ramen he was about to devour.

"Coming right up!" She said as she went in the back to get their meal.

Naruto and Hinata began to talk about their training as other customers came and left. One such customer wore a dull brown cloak and a hood that covered everything but his mouth. He sat at the back of the stand and simply observed the young couple. With the brown cloak on, no one noticed how the man's eyes flashed red for a brief moment when he looked at them.

'Even during lockdown, this village is simple enough to infiltrate if you know where its weak spots are.' Itachi thought to himself.

Itachi observed the couple that sat not five feet away from him. His emotions were mixed at the moment and that in itself was strange as Itachi had stopped allowing himself to feel anything after he had been forced to slaughter his family all those years ago. However, he was unsure what he was feeling at the moment. He felt annoyance at not knowing how he had been driven off by the Hyuga girl. He was slightly excited to see that the leaf village was not in as bad of shape as he first thought.

Contrary to what many in the village may have believed, Itachi loved Konoha with his entire heart and soul. He had killed his family for this very reason. The Uchiha clan was a very prideful clan as it was considered one of the strongest in the world aside from their eternal rivals the Senju. Before the hidden villages came into being, clans warred against one another all the time for power and the Uchiha and the Senju were the two most powerful clans in the land. They hated each other with an undying passion and when one country hired one of the clans another would hire the other clan.

This all changed when it was decided that far too much blood had been spilt from the endless fighting and the two clans decided that it would be best that they joined forces. Once this happened other countries were terrified of the union and sought to establish ties with each other so that they wouldn't be conquered. Slowly but surely the hidden villages began to form. The leader of the Senju clan at that time was chosen to become the first Hokage and peace seemed to reign for a time for the Uchiha clan.

'Still that all changed a few years after the Kyuubi decided to attack the village.' Itachi thought as he closed his eyes and remembered how things went downhill.

The Uchiha clan had been losing power, in its own mind. It no longer held as much power and influence as it had done so long ago and was even beginning to believe that the village was distrustful of them. That they were given their own compound at a far corner of the village that had walls separating it from the rest of the village only heightened this suspicion. Itachi was unsure who had first proposed the idea but the clan had somehow gotten it in its head that it should be in control of the village and a coup against the Hokage was planned to take control.

This could not be allowed to happen. The third great ninja had just ended and tensions were still high. If the village dissolved into a civil war, then the other villages would jump at the opportunity presented and attack as well. This would cause Konoha's allies to jump in the battle as well and another ninja war would have erupted and caused the deaths of an untold amount of people. Itachi couldn't allow that to happen.

He had told the Third and Sarutobi desperately tried to appease the clan without blood having to be shed. However, the Uchiha were adamant in their thinking and couldn't be negotiated with. After this, the elders and Danzo ordered Itachi to kill his family to save the village. It was by far the most difficult thing that Itachi had been forced to do. Itachi had seen the pains and brutality of war and couldn't stand to allow another to take place simply because his clan had decided that it wanted more power. Itachi did his duty…with help.

Afterwards he left the village, though he left his younger brother alive. He loved his brother more than anything, including the village. He couldn't bring himself to kill him. He even threatened the elders and Danzo that they should leave Sasuke alone or else he would reveal the truth of the incident. Itachi had killed his emotions after that day or the pain from what he had done would have driven him mad.

Despite all of this, Itachi could honestly say that he felt more anger than sadness with Sasuke's death. He had wanted his brother to grow strong and eventually kill him and bring the Uchiha clan back to glory. However, his idiot brother fell into the same trap as the rest of the family. He began to feel that he deserved power and recognition without first _earning _it. It had led him to cockiness and he went to Orochimaru for power.

Itachi despised the snake sannin ever since Orochimaru attempted to take his body over when they first met each other in Akatsuki. He had taken the snake's hand off and left it at that. Had he instead killed Orochimaru like he first thought about then maybe things would have been different. Still, it was Sasuke that had fallen for the lure of more power and that had been his downfall. It seemed that the Uchiha clan was destined to be a cursed clan and that there was no way to redeem it.

'With Sasuke gone, who will take up his duty to kill me?' Itachi thought as he opened his eyes and noticed that Naruto and Hinata were leaving. He could have taken them right then and there. He still felt a slight bit of animosity at the blonde for killing his brother and the Hyuga for being able to defeat him. However, Itachi wanted them to live. He was interested in seeing just how powerful they could become and testing himself against them in the future. His leader had stated that they would resume acquiring the demon containers in three years time. They only wanted to capture Naruto quickly so that he wouldn't become too powerful. However, Itachi had decided that he would ignore this order. It may get him into trouble later but should the leader kill him then he would get what he wanted regardless.

'I look forward to seeing how powerful the two of you will get in the future. Maybe it will be one of you that can finally kill me and give me peace.' Itachi thought.

"Can I help you?"

Itachi looked up and stared at Ayame. She had a smile on her face at the silent customer and was waiting for his order. Itachi ordered a single bowl and watched as she left him to get it. Itachi would quickly eat and then he would rendezvous with Kisame. Kisame hadn't been allowed to come as he was far too noticeable with his skin and height. Itachi could use a very quick genjutsu on anyone that attempted to question him and even without this measure, it would be hard to recognize him as he had dyed his hair and had his sharingan deactivated. He looked and behaved like any other citizen.

"Here you go!"

Itachi looked up to see Ayame had returned with his food. Itachi began to eat and was surprised that it was as tasty and filling as it was. He quickly finished and placed a large tip on the table. He was about to leave when he heard something that made him stop.

"Hey there Ayame-chan! How about going on a date with me?"

Itachi turned his head and saw a rather large man leaning on the counter, leering at Ayame.

"For the last time, no. I'm not interested in dating someone like you. Now if you're quite done ruining my day would you please leave?" Ayame said in a clipped tone. It was obvious this was not the first time that she had had to put up with this person.

"Don't be like that baby. I promise I'll show you a good time!" He said as he grabbed her arm. Ayame glared at the man and tried to wretch her arm from the man but he held on and pulled her towards him.

"Let go of me!" Ayame shouted and she kneed him in the groin. He fell to the ground and she quickly grabbed a frying pan and bashed him over the head. He fell limp and Itachi was astonished by her tenacity. However when she turned her back, the man proved that he wasn't yet unconscious and staggered to his feet and by the look on his face, he was not happy. Ayame remained oblivious.

Itachi quickly walked over and grabbed the man's hand, which was raised in preparation for coming down over her head. The man turned to look at him in surprise and Itachi quickly disabled him by pulling his arm behind his back and putting him in a special hold that only Anbu knew. The man bellowed in pain as Itachi pulled him towards the door and kicked him out with a single command.

"Leave." Itachi said as he met the man's eyes and let his flash momentarily. The man would only be able to see a glow in Itashi's eyes but not the tell tale red glow of a sharingan. The man swiftly left in fear and Itachi made to leave as well.

"Thank you." He turned to see Ayame with a smile on her face.

He inclined his head and turned to leave, though he paused for a moment in thought as he looked back at the retreating form of Ayame. He might have found a way to get more information on Naruto and Hinata.

'I may be eating ramen fairly often.'

**(Three weeks later)**

The time had come. Hinata looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath as she prepared herself for what she had decided to do. She grabbed the indigo head band that Naruto had bought her so long ago to cover her curse seal. Even though the accursed seal was no longer present, she still wore it over her forehead from a force of habit. She traced a few of the faint markings that adorned her skin as she dressed and prepared to leave. The last thing she took before leaving her home was her twin butterfly daggers. They still refused to speak to her but she took them with her everywhere she went.

Hinata opened the door and saw Naruto standing at the bottom of the steps with a grim expression on his face. She had told him days in advance what she wanted to do and while he certainly was unsure whether or not he agreed, he knew that it was important to her and she would have his support.

"Are you ready for this Hinata-chan?" He asked with a determined look on his face.

"I am Naruto-kun." She said softly but with a firm resolve. He still looked unsure but nonetheless he grabbed her hand and gave a comforting squeeze.

They didn't speak as they walked towards the Hyuga compound. Tsunade met up with them soon enough and all three walked towards the gates of the compound. Tsunade, not being the most patient, loudly announced their arrival.

"Open up! I've got business to handle with Hiashi!" Tsuande shouted in a booming tone. The Hyuga guards at the gate knew better than to contend with an irate Tsunade. They quickly ran to alert Hiashi of her arrival.

Hiashi arrived with an arrogant stride as the gates opened. He gave a short glare at Naruto and ignored Hinata entirely. He addressed Tsunade in a tone that was just shy of rude.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Tsunade?" He asked coldly.

"First of all you had better watch your tone! I am the Hokage Hiashi and as such I will not put up with your disrespect! You will address me as Hokage-sama or I will have your sorry butt detained and locked away." She said in an equally cold tone that even made Hiashi grimace. Tsunade was not like Sarutobi and had no stomach for insubordination in the least.

"My apologies Hokage-sama. However, I am very busy so I would like to know why you have seen fit to come to my home." Hiashi said in a slightly more subdued tone.

"You Hiashi Hyuga are under arrest for treason and an attempt to assassinate a shinobi of the leaf." Tsunade said in a no nonsense tone.

Hiashi's expression became clouded for a moment before it cleared. He looked unconcerned suddenly as if he had nothing to fear.

"Those are some very strong accusations. What proof do you have?" he asked.

"You don't need to worry about that right now. Just know that we have the evidence and will present it when you stand trial." Tsunade said in a definitive tone. Hiashi gave a sigh and shook his head.

"You should know that to accuse a clan head of something like this is a very serious thing Hokage-sama. I doubt my clan will take kindly to it." Hiashi said in a confident tone.

"That's only if you're still the clan head by the time the trial takes place." Tsunade said in an equally confident tone. Hiashi looked confused by her statement.

Hinata took a deep breath and clutched Naruto's hand for support.

"Hiashi Hyuga, I challenge you for the position of clan head of the Hyuga clan." Hinata said in a low but determined tone.

"What did you say?" Hiashi whispered in a deadly tone. His expression was actually more shocked than angry as that specific rule had not been used since the years when the clan first came to Konoha.

"You heard her you stuck up piece of crap! She's going to kick your butt and become the clan head." Naruot said in a loud tone that drew the attention of the few Hyuga that were wandering around the compound. They came out to see what the commotion was and word soon spread that Tsunade was present. Soon enough the Hyuga elders that made up the council of the clan arrived.

"What is this about the ancient law of the clan head being invoked?" one of the councilmen asked.

"Hinata here is challenging Hiashi for the position of clan head." Tsunade said, much to their shock.

"T-that's not possible! She was banished from the clan." The elder said in anger.

"That doesn't matter. _Any_ former clan heir or head is allowed to invoke the challenge." Hinata said as she glared at the elder. This one was actually Hiashi's father and Hinata's grandfather. He was one of the main members that despised her caring ways and was in the forefront in having her banished.

"Very well, I accept. However, know that when you fail, your life will be forfeit." Hiashi threatened as he walked into the compound.

Tsunade looked at Hinata and Naruto and after receiving mutual nods, she led them into the compound. Hinata looked around and saw the same stares that she had grown up around her entire lives. The main branch looked at her with disdain while the branch family looked to her with hope filled eyes.

'I will succeed. I can't afford to lose.' She thought.

She got a surprise when she saw her younger sister Hanabi. Unlike the rest of the clan her eyes held a different look to them. Hanabi actually looked slightly pleased to see Hinata and the cold, superior look had all but evaporated from her eyes and Hinata remembered what Neji had told her during the chunin exams. Hiashi had decided to marry Hanabi away to some other family for the betterment of the clan. Knowing how he was, Hinata could guess that he had told Hanabi of this and quickly reminded the girl that she was no longer the clan heir or important. It was only another offence added to the long list that Hiashi had against him in Hinata's mind.

"We are here. This will be the site of your defeat and inevitable death." Hiashi said coldly as they stood in front of a large dojo.

Hinata recognized it immediately. It was the same dojo that held so many horrible memories for her. It was where she had been beaten daily in the form of training exercises and it was the very place where she had been settled on her knees and had the curse seal applied.

'It will be a fitting place to exact retribution.' She thought as she entered.

Hinata and Hiashi faced one another as the entire clan filled into the room. Naruto and Tsunade were there as well and were in Hinata's corner, so to speak.

"This battle will only end when one of us surrenders or is dead." Hiashi warned as he activated his byakugan and settled in the classic Hyuga stance.

"I understand." Hinata said in a clipped tone as she closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Hinata was not stupid. No matter how powerful she had become she was no match for Hiashi as she was. She would need help and immediately called upon the power of the angels to assist her. After much training she was now able to summon up the power with only a few seconds of concentration.

The clan, as a whole, gasped at the pure white aura that surrounded her. Her markings began to glow and her byakugan was released, revealing her pure white eyes. She had also discovered that her byakugan could only be used when using the angel's power. It seemed to be due to the angelic chakra being able to override the curse seal, as long as it was active.

"You still disgrace us. To require help from an outside source is only more proof that you are nothing but a failure as a Hyuga." Hiashi said in a scathing tone.

"Good! I'm tired of all or your rules and regulation! I'm tired of what you consider to be a good and proper image for a Hyuga! I can't stand your 'superior than though' ways and the happiest day of my life was when you kicked me out of this retched compound as it was the first day that I truly began to live! Now if you are quite finished talking I would like to finish this battle. I have far more important things to do with my time." Hinata said as she gave a stone, cold glare at Hiashi who was stunned silent for a moment. Actually, the entire dojo was dead silent except for the snickering of Naruto and Tsunade.

Hiashi didn't reply. He simply attacked. He struck towards her chest and Hinata tilted back slightly. His palm flew centimeters away from her and she quickly attempted to retaliate. However, her swift kick was blocked by his other palm and he kicked her legs out from underneath her. Hinata quickly rolled as he slammed the ground with both his palms. She felt the chakra burst from this move and knew that he was playing for keeps. That blow would have seriously harmed her had she not moved.

Hinata focused once again on Hiashi and concentrated on his form and movements. The gentle fist style was considered the most elegant of taijutsus and it was considered foolhardy to ever battle a Hyuga in close combat. However, the weakness in the style was its predictability. The clan was averse to changing even the slightest detail of the style and that had caused it to become stagnate when it could have continued to flourish. With this in mind, Hinata, who had a deep knowledge of the taijutsu style, could take advantage of the very few flaws in it if she was quick enough to notice them. At the same time she had to be careful to avoid taking any damage while she awaited her opportunity. It was going to come down to who made a mistake first.

Hinata pulled out her daggers and changed her stance. She had been coached by Hitomi on the special fighting style of the angels. While they were not the enforcers of Kami's will like the dragons, they still had to defend themselves. Their style reflected this as it was not truly an aggressive style. Hinata began to weave and block with her blades. This style was similar to the serpent style in that it required constant movement and flexibility, both of which Hinata had in spades. She would choose the perfect time to strike but unlike the serpent style, she wasn't aiming at lethal spots on the body. Instead she was seeking to land multiple non lethal but debilitating hits. This made it easier to keep from killing an opponent as they were more likely to pass out from pain or blood loss.

Hinata was not seeking to kill Hiashi and thus she kept her calm. She swiftly struck with her left blade and wounded Hiashi across his leg. He was surprised and attempted a double palm thrust to her chest. Hinata leaned far enough back that her head actually touched the ground. She completed the back flip and struck with both of the blades across Hiashi's chest, ruining his top.

Hiashi jumped back and looked at his wounds with an analytical eye. He removed his top and glared at Hinata, though he had a grin on his face.

"I must say that I am slightly impressed. I didn't think you would perform so well against the standard Hyuag style. However, know that this will not save you. I will stop holding back now." He stated as he entered a stance that Hinata had never seen before. She was unsure what he was doing before he launched himself at her. It seemed that his speed had doubled and even with her heightened senses and reflexes, she was being slowly moved backward. It was as if he had six arms instead of two. It took all of Hinata's skill to avoid being struck. However, she slipped at the wrong moment and Hiashi capitalized.

"**Mountain Crusher!**" he shouted as he thrust his arm forward and caught Hinata in the chest with the rock crushing burst of chakra.

Hinata was sent sailing through the air and landed heavily on her back. She quickly got to her feet but the pain in her chest was excruciating. She had luckily seen the attack coming and was able to concentrate a majority of her chakra to her chest, protecting her from the attack.

'Something strange occurred just now but what was it?' She thought as she got back to her feet and readied herself.

"You only cause yourself more pain. Surrender now and I will make your end merciful." Hiashi spoke coldly.

"No." Was Hinata's answer as she dashed forward and attacked Hiashi. He was momentarily taken off guard when she switched from her angelic fighting form to the serpent style. Her more brutal style took him by surprise and she was able to quickly slash him across his body. The wounds were deep and Hiashi gave a gasp of pain and surprise. He had no idea that she could be so brutal. He went to attack and Hinata swiftly retreated to her angelic fighting style. It was better for defense.

Hiashi stepped back and smiled as his stance changed once again. When he attacked his blows were similar to before but now it seemed that he had eight arms. Hinata was having a very difficult time protecting herself and he was able to land a glancing blow to her shoulder. Hinata slashed blindly and was able to catch him across his face before he could take advantage of her disabled arm.

Hiashi touch his cheek and was infuriated that her blind slash had come so close to hitting his right eye. How dare she strike him in the face? Hiashi had had enough and decided that she should realize just how futile her battle was.

"Do you have any idea just how much I am holding back? The style that I have been using is a special form that is only passed done to the clan head. As I'm sure you noticed every time that I attacked that there were more and more blows to avoid. This is the secret of the style. I would explain further but there are ears present that need not know the truth behind it. Only know that should I require, the number of my attacks will increase drastically. I believe it's time to show you just how futile this battle is." He said as his chakra began to increase. A blue shell appeared around him and his hands were so covered in chakra that it was impossible to actually stare at them with her eye. Hinata had to look away or be blinded and that was when she made her mistake.

Hiashi was on her instantly and now his strikes came even faster. If it appeared that he had eight arms before that number had now increased to twelve. Hinata was been pressed harder than ever and she was now taking damage and blow after blow was able to get through her defense. Hiashi surprised her by falling back and changing his style once again, this time however she was well aware of what was to come, even though she could do nothing to stop it.

"**Kaiten!**" He shouted as a large dome of chakra expanded from his body and slammed into Hinata. She was thrown back by the blow and was only able to rise to her feet before he was before her in an oh so familiar stance.

"**Eight trigrams: 128 strikes!**" he shouted as he struck Hinata repeatedly. Hinata fell limp and didn't move. The indigo headband that she kept around her forehead fell to the ground at Hiashi's feet.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted in alarm. Tsunade kept her composure better than him but she too was deeply concerned.

"Pathetic. It seems that news of your exploits have been greatly exaggerated. Tell me, will you submit now that you realize just how inferior you are to me? If you give up now then I may be merciful and allow you to live." Hiashi stated as he grabbed her by the back of her jacket and lifted her up. She was still conscious and stared into his eyes. She saw nothing but cold lifeless white eyes. How she detested his eyes.

His eyes had always been the thing that she hated the most about him. Some of her first memories held those eyes in them and her worst nightmares used to be centered on them. They had never held the warmth that her mother's had. They were always like twin pieces of ice: cold, lifeless, and they would chill her to the core.

Against her will, Hinata felt the same helplessness that she had experienced for the first 12 years of her life. She felt the smothering blanket of failure overcome her as she stared into the cold eyes that had haunted her ever since she could remember first gazing into them. The sight of his eyes made her feel as if she was seven years old once again and looking into the disappointed eyes of a man that would in the coming years prove that he felt nothing but shame and anger towards her. It was a cold and smothering sensation and she hated it.

However, Hinata also felt something else. She felt pulsing warmth coming from her hands. Her twin daggers were glowing brightly and seemed to be posing a question. Would she submit, or would she fight?

'That's a stupid question. If I were to quite here then I don't deserve your help nor do I deserve Naruto-kun's love.' Hinata thought as she felt the blades give something similar to an acknowledgment. It was as they were congratulating her on making the right decision.

"Do you have anything you want to say?" Hiashi said with a condescending grin.

"You talk too much." She replied softly as the nearly nonexistent aura around her exploded outward.

Hiashi dropped her in surprise and Hinata got back to her feet. The power she felt flowing through her was three times as potent as before.

'**You are now one with your weapons. They have accepted you as their handler and together, you are far stronger.**'

Hinata recognized the soft voice as that of Hitomi, her angelic trainer. She gazed up at the stunned Hiashi and calmly walked over to pick up her indigo headband. She ripped it in half and wrapped the handles of her daggers with the pieces. This was her way of symbolizing a new beginning for herself.

"I am sick and tired of hearing you speak. I'm going to defeat you now and you will stand trial for your crimes." Hinata said in a soft yet powerful tone that all watching felt as well as heard.

"Say that once you've actually won." He replied as he overcame his shock and once again fell into the strange style.

Hinata calmly watched him as he attacked once again. She could tell that he was moving even faster than before, yet she now saw the single flaw in the style. His legs were firmly planted in the ground and actually had chakra flowing into them.

'He's using his chakra to ground him. With his feet stuck to the ground then he doesn't have to worry about backlash as he unleashes all of his power forward. Once he sees an opening then he switches back to the regular gentle fist style and attacks.' She thought as Hiashi came towards her.

She had decided on a different way to beat this style. While she still dodged, instead of moving backwards while dodging as she did before, she moved slightly to the right. This forced Hiashi to twist his body as his feet had to remain stuck to the ground. Whereas before Hiashi could push her back, he was now forced to shift with her movements. This gave Hinata an advantage.

She ducked under one of his blows and quickly slashed his right leg. The wound wasn't very large but that wasn't her goal. She continued to dodge and then struck his left leg. While Hiashi didn't show it Hinata knew that his balance was dangerously shaky and she capitalized. She leapt to the side and Hiashi was forced to move with her once again. However, the wounds on his legs prevented him from being able to move quickly enough to prevent Hinata from getting to his right side. In fact his right leg buckled under the pressure being applied to it and he went to one knee. Hinata was instantly on him and began to kick, slash, and punch Hiashi mercilessly. He was thrown back from one such kick and rolled onto his knees. He was surprised when she didn't immediately attack him.

"Get up."

He looked up and saw her standing before him. There was no fear in her eyes. All he could see in her expression was a determination that made him question for a split second whether or not he truly could defeat her.

'Nonsense, there is no way that she will be able to keep this up.' He thought as he got to his feet. He was bleeding from a number of wounds but didn't seem to notice. He fell back into his stance and was preparing himself when Hinata spoke out.

"It's no use." She said simply.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, confused by her comment.

"I have figured out the weakness of this style of yours." Hinata said with a small smirk at his shocked look.

"You lie!" One elder behind Naruto shouted.

"Do I? Very well then, I will explain. This style relies on a great deal of speed and energy to be used to both injure and confuse an opponent. The number of attacks coming is nearly impossible to perceive much less dodge. An opponent that isn't fast enough will be completely overwhelmed while anyone that is fast enough to dodge will have no counter and be forced to continue to move backward. This is exactly what you want to happen. The secret to this style is that it is completely stationary. The force and speed behind you attacks are dependent upon your ability to keep a strong base. You adhere your feet to the ground using chakra, achieving this goal. Once the opponent is forced back, you can slowly move forward. Once you do this the number of attacks you send lessen however your opponent is still so shocked and worried about the dangerous style that they fail to notice." Hinata said softly.

Hiashi, as well as the elders, were shocked. To be able to notice something like this was truly frightening. While everything she said was true, no one had ever been able to actually figure it out. Hiashi had indeed been forced to keep his feet on the ground and for every step Hinata took backwards, he moved forwards. For her to be able to see that his blows were lessening and to see that his balance was shaky when he lifted his leg, she would have had to been completely focused on his form and movements. This should have been impossible as she had to have all of her concentration on dodging the attacks. Not even the byakugan could concentrate on two differently things at the same time to the degree that she had just done. Hinata wasn't done speaking though.

"Thus, while this style is truly powerful, now that I know its weakness it has no chance against me." Hinata said confidently as she put away her daggers.

"You truly believe that you can defeat me without those daggers of yours? They were the only thing keeping me from destroying you earlier. Without them, you lose your range advantage." Hiashi said as he prepared himself once again.

"I have no more interest in fighting you. I will end this battle now." Hinata said as she held her hand out. A white column of energy appeared and like before, Hinata bent it backward and grabbed the middle. She pulled back and was once again holding her bow of chakra.

'W-what is this? Such power!' Hiashi thought as his byakugan showed that the power of that bow was beyond anything he had experienced before.

Hinata said nothing as she released three arrows.

"**Kaiten!**" He shouted as he once again began to spin and formed the sphere of chakra to protect himself. However, his legs felt surprisingly weak. The dome of chakra was therefore not as strong as it normally would have been and the three arrows shattered the Hyuga's legendary ultimate defense. Two arrows hit Hiashi in his shoulders while the third hit his chest. The arrows exploded upon contact and Hiashi was sent flying out of the ring, unconscious before he hit the ground.

"I have won this match, and by law I am now the clan head of the Hyuga clan." Hinata said softly as the angelic chakra left her. She felt a wave of exhaustion come over her body. She faltered until she felt two arms wrap around her form. She looked up into the smiling face off Naruto. She could see pride and adoration shining brightly in his face.

"You were great Hinata-chan!" He said softly and he helped her steady herself.

"Yes she was, oh and just so none of you forget, Hiashi is no longer the clan head and he is now to stand trial for the attempted murdering of two Konoha shinobi. I trust that this is no longer a problem?" Tsunade asked in a tone that dared anyone to contradict her. None seemed brave enough to tempt fate, but one elder did have a grievance.

"She is still too young to be the clan head. That position can only be given to someone at least 16 years of age. She will have to remain the clan heir and choose and clan head." The elder stated.

"What? That's a load of crap." Naruto said in annoyance, though Hinata placed her hand over his to calm him.

"I already knew that something like this would come up. Thus I have an idea of who is to be the clan head. I will reveal the candidate soon enough. However, I will not accept the heir position. I am very happy with my life outside of the clan and will return to it. Also, I don't have the time to be an adequate heir." Hinata said and she saw the disappointed looks on the faces of the branch family.

"Who is to be the heir then?" The elder asked, hoping that she would say Hanabi. Hanabi was still young and they might be able to corrupt her again.

"I choose Neji-nii-san." Hinata said, much to the elders' and even Naruto's surprise.

"Neji? Why him Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Because we discussed it beforehand."

Naruto looked to the door and sure enough, Neji was standing there with his arms crossed. His head was held high and his eyes burned with passion.

"What are you doing here?" One of the elder's asked.

"I am here to retake the position as heir of the Hyuga clan." Neji said in his usual tone. There were murmurings from all of the Hyuga present. The elders and a majority of the main branch were actually okay with this as they still believed Neji to be the cold and heartless person he used to be. The branch family was unsure of how to feel. When Neji had first become the heir they thought that he would be sympathetic to their plight. However, this was proven false as he acted like a miniature Hiashi.

"I will make up for my past mistakes and lead this clan to a bright future, once I've come of age." Neji said loudly.

"My choice for the new clan head will be delivered shortly. For now Neji is the heir and Hiashi is to be detained immediately." Hinata said as she turned to leave the compound. Naruto and Tsunade walked right beside her and Tsunade stopped to pick up the unconscious Hiashi.

Hinata gave the entire compound one last long look. This had been where she had lived for much of her life but it had never truly been home to her. Home was where the heart resided, it was said. If this was true then wherever those that cared about her were, that was her home. She turned and the left the Hyuga clan for the last time. She would not return as it was now a part of her past. She looked at Naruto's beaming face and knew where her future resided.

Neji looked into the eyes of the clan. The branch family still looked distrustful of him and that was to be expected. He could see that the elders had scheming looks on their faces and he knew that he would have to tread carefully with them. The new clan head would normally be chosen by them but Hinata's victory made her the temporary leader and she could pass that position off to whomever she wanted.

'I hope you know what you are doing Hinata. For this clan still has a long way to go before it is where we would like it to be.' He thought as the clan came up to him and began to bombard him with questions.

**(One month later)**

The matter of the Hyuga clan had yet to be completely resolved. Hinata had selected a member of the main branch who was known for his sympathy for the branch family to be the new clan head. He was actually a distant cousin of Hinata. He and Neji were already collaborating about the new direction they wanted to take the clan in.

Hiashi had been convicted of treason and sentenced to prison. Jiraiya had applied a seal to suppress his chakra and Tsunade had also forbidden the clan from harming Hanabi in any way. As her father was imprisoned, the elders wanted to place the seal on her but Neji, the new clan head Ko, and Tsunade put a stop to this and ordered that while she was no longer the heiress of the clan she would remain an main branch member.

Hinata was thinking on all of this as she sighed in contentment as Naruto massaged her shoulders. She was very happy that things had worked out. She had freed her clan from a tyrant and her little sister was free from ever having to worry about the seal. Also, Ko and Neji were going to work together and take the clan in a new and better direction, she hoped.

"Enjoying yourself HInata-chan?" Naruto muttered softly in her ear as she gave another appreciative groan.

"Immensely." She said as she looked over the field in which they were sitting.

They were still training with Jiraiya and the mysterious man but they had taken a break. Naruto had noticed how stiff she looked and began to give her a massage. They only had a short break before they would have to begin training again but they savored their time of rest.

The village was slowly changing. Even after the last invasion, moral stayed strong. The Will of Fire burned strongly in their village. They had overcome worse times before and the village stood together as it began to slowly rebuild its strength. Up and coming genin and chunin like the rookie nine were looked upon as the future that was to be protected. In the minds of the villagers and elder shinobi, the future of the village rested in their hands, and they were confident that everything would be okay. In their minds it was always darkest just before dawn and the sun was quickly rising for the village of Konoha.

Hinata turned and kissed Naruto, who was more than happy to reciprocate. They remained in each other's arms, simply enjoying the warmth and love they felt for one another.

'Who would have thought that I would be here with the most beautiful girl in the world at my side? So much has changed in my life. I discovered my burden, found out who my parents' are, found out that dragons have chosen me to save the world, and last but certainly not least I have found the love of my life and a family. All because I listened to a little advice and discovered my true nindo. I wonder what the future holds for us.' Naruto thought as Jirayia called out to he and Hinata.

"Come on Hinata-chan. Let's get back to training. I have a feeling that we're going to need it soon." Naruto thought.

Hinata was about to respond when suddenly she got a headache. She closed her eyes and visions began to appear. She saw an older Naruto fighting against legions of dark figures. She saw herself soaring above the trees at high speeds, her face lined with concern. She saw the village of Konoha burning from numerous fires as people yelled and ran. And worst of all she saw a complete darkness beginning to overtake the land, bloating out all life and existence as a single red eye with three tomes watched on with glee.

Hinata opened her eyes with a gasp of shock as Naruto held her in his arms.

"Hinata-chan what happened?" Naruto asked in concern.

"I don't know Naruto-kun, but I have a feeling that you are right about our training. It will be needed very soon indeed." She said softly as the foreboding images sent a shiver of fear down her spine. The cold feeling retracted a bit as Naruto wrapped her in his arms and let her know that he was there for her.

"No matter what comes Hinata-chan, I will protect you and everyone that I love even if it should cost me my life. For that is my true nindo, my ninja way!" Naruto said with a bright smile that washed away all fear from Hinata face and heart.

"Yes Naruto-kun, that is our nindo and we will uphold it!" She said happily as he kissed her and led her back to their training fields.

No matter what came their way, they would face it together. They would protect everyone and everything that they cared for with their very lives, for that was their nindo. Naruto's and Hinata's true ninja way.

**(End)**

**That's chapter 57 and the last chapter of Naruto's True Nindo! I thank everyone who reviewed and enjoyed my story and all the support I got from my friends. I never imagined that this story would become so popular and am deeply touched that you all enjoy it. I thank God for you all and hope to see you when the sequel comes out! What strange adventures await or heroes? Will Naruto overcome his new weakness? What do the visions that Hinata had mean?**

**THAT IS A SECRET!**

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**Till next time everybody, Kyuubi123 out! **


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